Bonanza - A House United, Book 7 - With Charity For All
by pulitzer2016
Summary: As the Cartwrights spend summer and autumn of 1863 building Hoss's new house, Adam realizes he's fallen in love with Molly O'Connell. Josie's friendship with Molly's brother, Fionn, deepens, all four young Cartwrights sneak out of the house, Josie and Adam plan their trip to Sacramento, and Chief Winnemucca surprises Josie with an early birthday gift!
1. Chapter 1

**With Charity for All  
Book 7 of A HOUSE UNITED series**

 **By Sarah Hendess**

 **Ponderosa Ranch  
Nevada Territory  
August 1863**

Adam left the Ponderosa right after lunch on Monday, August 17. He wanted to arrive in town with enough time to take a room at the hotel and wash up for his dinner with Molly that evening. He was so excited as he packed his carpetbag that he nearly forgot to take the financial ledgers he needed for his meeting with the banker the next morning. He had wrapped the box containing Molly's birthday necklace in some bright green paper Josie had found for him, and he tucked this into his bag between two clean shirts.

Ben, Hoss, and Little Joe were out on the range rounding up and counting the reserved cattle, so Adam bid farewell only to Hop Sing before he left the house. He saddled up Sport and started off down the road toward Virginia City, popping in at Josie's clinic on his way out to say goodbye to her.

Josie glowed as she hugged him goodbye and kissed his cheek.

"Remember," she said, "you have to tell me all about Molly's reaction to that necklace!"

"I will. I promise." Adam grinned at her, chucked her fondly under the chin, and mounted back up on Sport.

The afternoon sun was merciless, but Adam enjoyed his ride into town and stopped at a small stream halfway there to give Sport a drink. He splashed a little of the cool water on his face and grinned to himself as he imagined what Molly's reaction might be that night to her birthday present. Careful as he was being with this relationship, Adam had to admit – if only to himself – that he was falling in love with the pretty Irish seamstress. These romantic thoughts of Molly stirred up a familiar fire just below his navel, so Adam splashed a little more cold water on his face before mounting back up on Sport. No sense making his thus-far pleasant ride into town uncomfortable.

Adam arrived in Virginia City in the late afternoon, and after bedding Sport down at the livery, he ambled over to the International House, carpetbag in hand. He greeted the clerk and took a room on the second floor, where he dug into his bag and extracted his dress pants, jacket, shirt, and tie. He was relieved to see that none of the items had gotten badly wrinkled on the ride to town and he put them on hangers and carried them down the hall to the washroom where he hopped into a cool bath. He spent a little longer in the tub than he had intended, making sure he washed off every last drop of sweat and speck of trail dust. When he finally emerged, his skin glowing pink from all the scrubbing, he took an inordinately long time shaving, being careful not to nick his face or leave behind a single prickly whisker. He winced as he splashed on some of his good aftershave, but he smiled at his reflection in the mirror as he combed back his hair, using a little extra tonic to hold that stubborn Stoddard forelock in place. Satisfied that he was as clean as he could possibly be, he unwound the towel from his waist and got dressed.

As he finished knotting his tie around the collar of his crisp, white shirt, Adam heard the clock in the lobby toll the hour and he grinned at himself in the mirror again for how well he had managed his time. Stopping in his room to deposit his dirty clothes and slip the box with Molly's necklace into his jacket pocket, he brushed the dust from his hat and headed out to collect Molly.

It was only a few blocks from the International House to Molly's shop, and Adam covered the distance in ten minutes. He had been worried about picking her up right after work – life with Josie had taught him how much time women could require to dress for a formal meal – but Molly had assured him she could prepare herself in the back room of her shop. And when Molly answered Adam's knock on the door (it hadn't felt right to just walk in like he did during business hours), Adam discovered how very right she had been.

Adam stood stunned at the sight of her. She wore a gown of emerald silk with a low-cut neck and cap sleeves. The skirt was full, but not as wide as a true hoopskirt, which made it much more practical for strolling around Virginia City, and the neckline and sleeves were trimmed with delicate white Irish lace. She had done up her long hair in the same two braids that crisscrossed behind her head like she had worn in at the Cartwrights' party three months earlier, and Adam thought he had never seen a more beautiful woman. He broke into a wide smile and bowed grandly to her.

"A very happy birthday to you, Miss O'Connell," he said as he straightened up and kissed the back of her right hand.

"Thank you, Mr. Cartwright," Molly giggled.

"Shall we?" Adam gestured to the sidewalk behind him as he offered his right arm to Molly. She smiled at him, took his arm, and let him lead her back to the International House, where Adam had reserved a private table in a back corner of the restaurant.

All eyes shifted to Adam and Molly as they swept through the restaurant. A good portion of Virginia City was jealous of either one or the other of them. The ladies were envious of Molly for snagging the elusive Adam Cartwright, and the men were jealous of Adam for claiming one of the prettiest young ladies in town – a feeling only slightly mitigated by Dr. Josephine Cartwright's recent availability. Adam sensed the attention and puffed up a little as they arrived at their table and he pulled Molly's chair out for her. Before sitting down himself, he asked the waiter for a bottle of the hotel's finest wine. The young man grinned and with an enthusiastic "Yes, sir!" darted for the kitchen.

Adam and Molly smiled as the waiter rushed to get their wine, and Adam reached across the table and took hold of both of Molly's hands.

"Would you like your birthday present now?" he asked, his eyes twinkling.

Molly glanced around at the restaurant and then back at Adam. "I thought this dinner _was_ my birthday present!"

Adam smiled at her. "It's part of it, but I wanted to give you something you could keep, too." He let go of Molly's hands so he could reach into his jacket pocket and pull out the necklace box. He handed this to Molly as she eyed both him and the long, slim package suspiciously. Her first thought was that Adam had gotten her a book, and she was touched by his thoughtfulness. She loved to read but never had much extra money for books, so she treasured each one that came her way. She ripped through the green paper to reveal not a novel but a long, flat box. She cocked her head to one side as she carefully pulled it open.

Molly gasped and one hand flew to her mouth when she saw the emerald necklace sitting inside the box on a small red-velvet cushion. "A Dhia!" she breathed in Irish.

Adam grew concerned by how long Molly sat there staring in shock at the necklace. "Do you like it?" he asked.

Tears sprang to Molly's eyes. "It's beautiful." She finally tore her gaze away from the necklace and looked up at Adam. "You shouldn't have. This is too much."

"Don't be silly. I'm selfish, remember? It's pretty and I wanted to see it on you." Adam gave her a sly smile as he rose from his seat and took the box from Molly's hands. He removed the necklace and, stepping around behind Molly, draped it around her neck and clasped it. He returned to his seat and sat there admiring the glittering necklace resting just above the bosom of the beautiful young lady. Still blinking back tears, Molly glanced down at the gem.

"Thank you," she whispered. "This is the nicest thing anyone's ever given me." A single tear slid down her cheek, and she dabbed at her eyes with her napkin.

"You're welcome."

They could have sat there all night making eyes at one another, but their wine arrived just then, and the eager waiter made a grand production of opening the bottle and pouring a glass for each of them. Adam asked for a few more minutes for them to decide on their orders, and the waiter dashed off again.

Molly giggled. "Enthusiastic lad, isn't he?"

Adam grinned in agreement and raised his wine glass. "To Molly O'Connell," he toasted. "May you have many, many more birthdays ahead of you."

Molly smiled and clinked her glass against his, and they both drank. Adam looked down at his glass and smiled. It wasn't easy to find decent wine in Virginia City, but this bottle was pretty good. Molly seemed to enjoy it, too, and they were well into their second glasses when the waiter returned to take their orders.

Over roast legs of lamb, Adam told Molly all about Hoss's proposal to Patience three days earlier. Molly beamed and, even though she had not yet been asked, mentally began designing Josie's and Sally's bridesmaids' dresses.

"Poor Hoss," she said with a smile. "He must have been scared to death!"

Adam laughed and agreed. "I thought he was going to faint right before the Lovejoys arrived."

Molly giggled. "Oh, I am happy for him, though. He and Patience are a fine couple."

"I can think of a finer one." Adam reached across the table and toyed with Molly's fingers. She gave him a coy smile, which he returned with a sly wink as the burning sensation below his navel began festering again.

"Would you like something sweet?"

"Excuse me?!" Adam nearly jumped out of his seat, and it took him a moment to realize their waiter had returned.

"So sorry, sir," the young man said, blushing with shame. "I didn't mean to startle you. I was just wondering if you and the lady would like some dessert."

Adam and Molly both bit their lips to keep from laughing and embarrassing the young man further.

"What do you say, Molly?" Adam asked. "A little something sweet for my sweet?"

This was so corny that this time Molly did laugh aloud. "Well, it _is_ my birthday," she said when she recomposed herself.

The waiter grinned and darted away yet again, returning in short order with two towering slices of chocolate cake. Adam's eyes bugged out at the sight of the confection.

"Goodness!" he exclaimed. "We should have asked for just one."

Molly studied her slice as if planning an attack. "Nothing for it!" she declared as she plunged her fork into the dense cake. She closed her eyes and dropped her head back in contentment as the first bite of cake settled on her tongue. "Oh, that is good," she moaned.

Adam broke out in a cold sweat and distracted himself by studying his own slice of cake. He stuck a forkful in his mouth and instantly understood what Molly was on about. "Holy smokes," he said when he'd swallowed the bite. "Hop Sing needs this recipe." Adam didn't go in for a lot of sweets – not like Hoss and Josie did, anyway – but this cake was bordering on spiritual.

Though neither of them thought they could possibly have room after all the lamb and mashed potatoes, Adam and Molly both polished off their massive slices of cake and then leaned back in their chairs, a bit stupefied, while they waited for the waiter to bring the bill.

Adam settled the bill and then rose very slowly from his chair and helped Molly up. "Shall I walk you home, milady?" he asked as they exited the restaurant and stepped back onto the sidewalk.

"Yes, please," she replied. "But go slowly."

They both laughed. Between the wine and the cake, there was no way either of them could move faster than a leisurely stroll. They chatted as they moved through the dying twilight back to Molly's shop, Adam telling her about shopping with Hoss for Patience's engagement ring, and Molly telling him how excited Fionn had become over the plans for the library.

"Oh, the library!" she exclaimed and slapped her forehead.

Adam gave her a puzzled glance. "What about it?"

"That just reminded me. Josie lent me a book a while back, and I forgot to give it back to her when we went to lunch on Friday. Would you mind taking it home to her?"

"No, of course not."

They had just reached Molly's shop, and she unlocked the door and beckoned Adam inside. He followed her in, and she led him to the back room, which Adam had never seen. He was surprised to find it ran the width of the building and had a small stove, sink, and table. In one corner was a single bed, neatly made up with a patchwork quilt that Adam suspected Molly had sewn herself. Next to the bed was a night table with an oil lamp, and a small wardrobe stood nearby.

"You've got some neat living quarters back here," he observed.

Molly had crossed to the night table and lit the lamp before picking up a slim volume. "Yes," she said as she crossed back to Adam, who had hesitated at the doorway. "Nights like this when Fionn's away, I don't like stayin' on the farm by meself, so he made sure I had comfortable accommodations here." Adam knew Fionn had taken the wagon off to Reno that morning to sell his remaining corn harvest, and he thought Molly's decision to stay in town while her brother was away was wise.

"Hey!" he exclaimed when Molly handed him the book and he saw it was a very familiar copy of Walt Whitman's _Leaves of Grass_. "This is my book! Josie's been lending out _my_ books!"

The indignation on his face sent Molly into a fit of giggles once more. She blamed all her giggling that evening on the bottle of wine. "Maybe she's practicin' for the library," she suggested.

Adam snorted with laughter. "Yeah, maybe. Did you like it at least?"

"I found it a bit… suggestive." Molly blushed ever so slightly.

"Yes, it certainly has its innuendos." One corner of Adam's mouth twitched upward and he stepped into the room, tossed the book onto the table, and reached for Molly. She stepped shyly into his arms and leaned her head into his chest as his arms encircled her. As soon as she was caught up in Adam's familiar embrace, Molly's apprehension melted away, and she tilted her face up to kiss him. His hazel eyes smoldering, Adam held her gaze for what seemed an eternity as he reminded himself not to move too quickly, not to get caught up in the moment, but they both threw caution to the wind, and within moments, Adam was leading Molly over to the bed.

Afterward, they lay with their arms wrapped tightly around each other. The August night was warm, and they were both coated in fine sheens of sweat. Molly reached one hand up and brushed Adam's forelock off his brow. He smiled as he closed his eyes and kissed her tenderly, tasting the salt on her lips.

"Molly." His voice was husky with emotion as their gazes locked on one another. "Molly, I love you. I love you so much." This was not premeditated, but Adam had never spoken truer words.

"And I love you, my darling." She kissed his nose and then giggled. "I suppose I can't rightly call you 'Just Adam' anymore, can I?"

Adam laughed and buried his face in her auburn tresses. "Sweetheart, right now, you can call me whatever you want."

Molly giggled and rolled over so they were spooning, her bare back pressed up against Adam's chest. They cuddled for a long time until Adam heard the clock in the front of the shop chime eleven. He sighed.

"I should go and let you get some sleep," he said.

"You're stayin' at the hotel tonight, aren't you?"

"Yes."

"Anyone expectin' you?"

"Well… no."

Molly rolled over to face him, one hand running lightly back and forth across his hip. "So stay here," she whispered.

Adam pretended to be scandalized. "But what will the neighbors think when they see me leaving first thing in the morning?"

"I'll slip you out the back door."

Adam grinned. "I can go along with that." Adam flipped up his corner of the quilt and slid under it. Molly did the same on her side, blew out the oil lamp, and snuggled up against him. Adam wrapped his arms around her, and they were both soon sound asleep.

When morning came, the first rays of dawn peeked through the curtains of the window and illuminated Molly's bed where she and Adam lay nuzzled together. The warm beams slid slowly across Molly's face, and she sighed and stretched. She was lying with her head on Adam's chest, and she now raised herself up on one elbow and caressed his cheek with her free hand. Adam sighed contentedly as his eyes blinked open, and he smiled up at her.

"Well, good morning," he muttered, still drowsy. "Fancy meeting you here." Molly giggled and gave him a soft kiss on the lips.

"Would you like some breakfast?" she asked.

"I certainly would," Adam replied with a wicked grin, and he looped his arms around Molly's waist and pulled her to him again. He kissed her, and when she drew back, her piercing green eyes met his gaze, and Adam knew he would never again be complete without her.

Ten minutes later, they were again cuddling as they caught their breath, when a shrill voice rent the air, shattering the sweet atmosphere they had created.

"MOLLY!"

Adam's and Molly's eyes widened in horror as they recognized the thick Cockney accent of Widow Clementine Hawkins. Molly glanced behind her to the open window, covered only by a thin pair of pale-pink cotton curtains that were fluttering in the warm morning breeze.

"Oh, sweet Lord!" Molly moaned as she leapt out of bed. She grabbed a light-blue dressing gown off a nearby chair and threw it over her shoulders, cinching the sash tightly around her waist. She glanced around the curtains and whirled back around to Adam. "She's coming to the window! Hide!"

Neither of them was ashamed of their nocturnal dalliances, but neither wanted the widow to spark a riotous chain of gossip through the territory, either. Adam felt a pang of terror as an image of Clementine composing a letter to his Aunt Rachel flashed through his mind, and he grabbed one edge of the quilt and rolled off the opposite side of the bed, wrapping himself up like a burrito. The bed was about two inches too low for him to scoot under, so he sucked his head and feet inside the quilt like a scared turtle, hoping that if he lay very still he could pass as a pile of laundry. He was tucked in mere seconds before the Widow Hawkins shoved her pointy noise through the open window.

"Molly!" she cried again. "Good 'eavens, child, are you all right? I 'eard you screaming all the way from my boarding 'ouse, so I ran right over!"

"Oh, I'm fine, Clementine, just fine," Molly assured her. "There was just a, uh, a snake! Yes, a great, big one, and it scared the dickens out of me."

The widow's eyes widened in shock. "A snake! Goodness, you didn't get bit, did you?!"

"Oh, no," Molly assured her. "In fact, I gave it quite a good thrashing."

Inside his blanket, Adam had to bite his lip to keep from laughing aloud and giving himself away. Then he remembered his discarded clothes and boots lying in a heap on the other side of the room, and he prayed that Clementine wouldn't spot them. Adam wasn't sure he could run fast enough to escape if the widow knew there was a Cartwright man in naught but his skin only a few feet away. Molly had the same thought and turned a bit to one side so she was blocking Clementine's view of the opposite end of the room.

"Good for you, dearie!" Widow Hawkins cheered. "I am so relieved you're all right. Why, if anything 'appened to you, I would just be beside myself, I would!"

"Yes, thank you, ma'am," Molly said. "Please excuse me, though. I really must get ready for my day."

"Of course you must." Clementine glanced over at the lumpy pile of Adam-infested quilt on the floor. "Looks like you 'ave a bit of tidyin' up to do. I'll leave you to it, then. Good morning!" The gray-haired woman withdrew her nose from the room and swept away down the street, back to her boarding house.

Despite the rising heat of the day, Molly slammed the window shut and yanked the curtains across it so they would have no more unwelcome visitors. "It's safe!" she called to Adam.

Adam poked his head out of the quilt and looked around, his black hair sticking out in all directions. He glanced around, ascertaining for himself that the coast really was clear, and then he grinned cheekily up at Molly. "So how about that breakfast?" he asked.

After a simple but delicious breakfast of scrambled eggs, bacon, and coffee, Adam bid Molly a very reluctant goodbye.

"I wish I never had to leave," he whispered in her ear as embraced her a final time.

Molly smiled and gave him a soft kiss on the lips. "Me, too," she said, caressing his cheek. "But go take care of your business. Keep the Ponderosa runnin' strong."

"The Ponderosa's going to keep me pretty busy the rest of the week, I'm afraid," Adam replied with a frown. "I don't think I'll be able to get back into town until sometime next week." He thought for a moment, and his face brightened. "How about you and Fionn come over for supper on Saturday night? He'll be back by then, won't he?"

"Oh, aye, I'm expectin' him this afternoon, actually."

"It's settled then. I love you so much." Adam smiled, gave Molly one last kiss, and scooted out the back door into the alley behind her shop. He glanced around several times to make sure Widow Hawkins hadn't reappeared and then strode back toward the hotel to change his clothes before meeting with John Billings, the banker. As he strutted along the sidewalk, Adam caught himself humming in between cheerful greetings to passersby. The sun seemed brighter than usual, and even though the air was already warm and promising to be broiling by midafternoon, Adam thought Virginia City had never looked so inviting.

When Adam reached the hotel, he slipped up to his room, grateful that he had taken his room key with him last night rather than leaving it behind the front counter, so it wasn't obvious that he hadn't returned the previous evening. He still wore the grin he'd had plastered across his face since leaving Molly's, and as he shucked off his dress clothes, his mind whirled with a thousand happy thoughts. He did realize, however, that if he and Molly were going to continue their trysts, then he would need to stop by Dr. Martin's for some necessary supplies; he didn't want to get Molly pregnant just yet.

Yet.

This was not the first time that word had struck Adam in relation to Molly, and he grinned even more broadly as he realized he intended his and Molly's relationship to progress to that point – if it hadn't already. No matter, Adam thought. If Molly turned up pregnant from last night's activities, then that was all right with him, too. He was a financially secure thirty-three-year-old man, and things could go much worse for him than being blessed with a family. As he finished buttoning up a clean black shirt, Adam imagined the day when he would be able to burst through the front door of the ranch house and announce to Ben that a grandchild was finally on the way. It occurred to him, though, that perhaps it wouldn't be fair to beat Hoss to that punch, especially considering Hoss had actually announced an engagement and set a wedding date. As Adam pulled on his boots, he redoubled his resolve to visit Dr. Martin on his way out of town that afternoon. But, first things first, he had a meeting at the bank.

Adam was usually keen to discuss possible investments for the Ponderosa, but this morning, his mind kept drifting back to Molly, no matter how hard he tried to focus on the stocks and bonds John Billings was telling him about.

"This must be what life is like for Little Joe all of the time," he thought to himself with a grin.

"So you like this idea?" the banker asked.

"I'm sorry, what were you saying?"

A smile tugged at the corners of John's mouth as he recognized the dreamy expression Adam had been wearing ever since he had walked into the bank half an hour earlier. It was an expression he had worn himself once, as a young man when he had first met the woman who would become his wife.

"I was just saying I think your father would make a lot more money if he sold all his cattle and raised elephants instead."

Adam stared blankly at the banker for several seconds before he realized the older man was joking. He dropped his head and chuckled. "John, I am so sorry. I don't know where my head is today."

Billings smiled and clapped a hand on Adam's shoulder. "I think I do," he said. "And whoever she is, don't let her get away." He gathered up some brochures from his desk and handed the small stack to Adam. "Take these home and look them over when you can focus. You can let me know what you think the next time you're in town."

"Thanks, John." Adam gathered up the papers, shook the banker's hand, and saw himself back out onto the sidewalk. He tucked the brochures under one arm and decided to stop by the stage depot to collect the Ponderosa's mail before heading over to the clinic to speak with Dr. Martin. It had been a couple weeks since any of the Cartwrights had collected the mail, and the depot clerk handed Adam a small sack bulging with post. Curious to see if his most recent issue of "Scientific American" had arrived, Adam plunked down on a bench outside the depot and dug into the mail. To his delight, his magazine had arrived, as had four letters for Josie: one each from Jacob, Michaela, Hannah, and Simon. Adam glared at the envelope containing Simon's letter as if it could somehow transmit his disdain for the younger man all the way to San Francisco. "Well, at least three of these will make her happy," he muttered as he crammed the letters and his magazine back in the sack. He dropped the bank brochures into the bag, too, and cinched it shut before moseying down the street toward Paul Martin's clinic.

The letters for Josie had triggered something in his mind, and as he strolled, Adam felt like he was forgetting something important, but he brushed it off, assuming he was just a victim of his distraction once more. As he mounted the clinic porch steps, however, a light, girlish laugh wafting out of the window slapped him across the face, and he realized what it was that he'd been forgetting: today was Tuesday. Josie, not Paul, was working in Virginia City's clinic today, and he absolutely, unequivocally could not ask Josie for contraceptives. Embarrassed, he turned to leave, but Pip must have smelled him through the open window because the dog began barking, drawing Josie's attention.

"Adam!" she cheered when she spotted her cousin on the sidewalk. "Come on in!"

Reminding himself that Josie had no idea why he had been coming to the clinic, Adam shook off his embarrassment and plastered a smile across his face. He turned back toward the clinic and had no sooner stepped over the threshold than Josie leapt at him and flung her arms around her neck.

"I was hoping you'd stop by before you headed home!" she exclaimed as he lifted her off feet. "We missed you last night."

"I missed you, too, kid," he said, setting her back on the floor and giving Pip a welcoming scratch behind the ears. Adam cocked one eyebrow as he studied Josie's glowing face. "You're in an awfully good mood this morning."

"Hey, Cartwright!" another voice called as a slim figure stepped over to him.

"Oh, hi, Fionn!" Adam replied, genuinely surprised. "I didn't think you were due back until this afternoon."

"I wasn't," Fionn said, shaking Adam's hand in greeting. "But I got a little present for Hey, You in Reno and couldn't wait to give it to her. Drove all night to get back early enough to be sure I'd catch her in town." He draped one arm around Josie's shoulders and gave her a little squeeze. Adam blinked in disbelief as Josie stretched up to give Fionn a peck on the cheek. Fionn beamed like he'd just won first prize at a county fair.

"And what a wonderful gift it was!" she added. "Fionn's brought us the first book for the library!" She grabbed Adam's hand and dragged him over to her desk, where she handed him a weighty volume.

" _Jane Eyre_ ," Adam read aloud from the cover. "Nice choice, Fionn."

"Can't take the credit for the selection, I'm afraid," Fionn admitted. "I got to talkin' with the shopkeeper I sold me corn to, and I mentioned the library. His wife was standin' there and got all excited and shoved this book into me hands. Said it was a gift from the good people of Reno."

"That was generous of her," Adam agreed, handing the book back to Josie so he could dig into the mail sack he was still carrying. "I've got something for you, too." After a few moments of rummaging, he extracted the four letters for Josie, purposely placing Simon's at the very bottom of the stack.

"Mama!" Josie squealed as she spotted the first letter. Then, shifting to the second, her voice rose another octave as she cried "Michaela!" Her voice rose so high when she looked at the third letter and shrieked "Papa!" that Pip began to whine. When Josie reached the fourth letter, however, her voice dropped to its natural register. "Oh, Simon." Her face fell as she dropped the letters onto the desk. Simon had been writing to Josie regularly; she could count on a letter about every two weeks, and Adam wished he would stop sending them. His missives were full of declarations of his continued love for Josie, how much he missed her and how very, very sorry he still was for how things had ended between them. Adam was glad Simon was suffering for his colossal stupidity, but the letters kept Josie clinging to the hope that he would return to Virginia City and things between them could return to the way they had been. But Simon's letters also described his apprenticeship in San Francisco so enthusiastically that Adam felt it was unlikely that Simon would come back to Nevada at the end of his year of study. He wished Simon would just give Josie a clean break and let her move on.

Fionn, apparently, felt similarly, because he was glaring at the letter now on the desk, and for a split second, Adam thought the young man was going to snatch it up and rip it to shreds – and he wouldn't have stopped him. Fionn, however, balled his hands into tight fists and crammed them into his pockets so violently that Adam heard a seam pop.

Not noticing Fionn's reaction, Josie turned back to him and Adam and forced a smile. "We were going over to Annie's Café for some lunch. Would you like to join us?"

Adam thanked her for the invitation but declined. "I need to get home. I promised Hoss I'd start working on the blueprints for his house today."

"Give him my congratulations," Fionn said. "Patience is a lovely woman, and she's lucky to be marryin' into such a fine family."

"I'll do that, Fionn, thank you." Adam smiled as it occurred to him how thoughtful Fionn was. He had kept Little Joe calm when they were trapped in the mine cave-in, he had helped Ben check the cattle the day Simon and Josie had broken up so Hoss would be free to comfort Josie, and then he had thrown himself whole-heartedly into helping to plan the library Josie was so excited about. And now, he had driven straight through the night, depriving himself of sleep, just to bring Josie a book. True, Fionn had made the poor decision to kiss Josie uninvited a couple months ago, but he had gone out of his way to apologize, and Adam decided he could forgive the young man one bad choice. "Though of course," Adam continued, "you could always tell him yourself on Saturday. Molly already accepted my invitation for the two of you to come to supper at the Ponderosa."

Fionn's face lit up, and he and Josie grinned at each other. "Aye, that'll be grand!" he said. "Did you and Molly have a nice time last night, then?"

Adam muzzled a chortle and leaned casually against the wall of the clinic. "Yes, it was lovely," he said. "I think Molly enjoyed it, too."

Josie noticed Adam bite his lip as if he were trying not to laugh, and she incorrectly assumed Adam was referring to Molly's reaction to her birthday gift. "Did she like the necklace?" Josie asked excitedly.

"She loved it! I got a great, big thank-you." He bit back laughter again, and this time, Josie narrowed her eyes suspiciously at him but said nothing more.

"Wonderful!" Fionn replied, oblivious to Adam's suppressed hilarity. He shook a finger at Adam in mock severity. "I hope you didn't go keepin' her out too late, now."

"Perish the thought," Adam answered, laying his right hand across his heart. "I had her back at her shop by nine-thirty."

"I knew I liked you, Cartwright." Fionn nodded approvingly at Adam and then turned to Josie. "Ready for lunch, Hey, You?"

"And how!" Josie chirped. She and Fionn grabbed their hats off the hooks near the door, and then the three humans and one canine stepped out of the clinic and into the hot August sunshine. Josie gave Adam a goodbye kiss on the cheek, said she would see him at supper, and then accepted Fionn's proffered arm and skipped along next to him toward Annie's Café.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

When Josie rode into the Cartwrights' barnyard early that evening, she groomed Scout, gave the Appaloosa an apple she'd saved for her, and then she and Pip sauntered toward the house, where Adam was out front chopping wood for the kitchen stove. The day was still hot, and Adam had peeled off his shirt as he worked. He had felt exceptionally cheerful all day, and when Hop Sing had asked for a bit more wood, Adam had happily obliged.

Josie grinned when she spotted Adam in the yard, and she quickened her pace. He turned around when he heard her approaching and gave her a big smile. When Josie reached him, Adam caught her up around the waist and swung her around in a big, sweaty hug.

"Ewwww!" Josie protested, even as she shrieked with laughter.

Adam chuckled as he set her down. "I have a hard time believing my sweat is the most disgusting thing you've ever encountered."

"Touché, Adam, touché," she giggled. She kissed his cheek, and Adam turned back to his work while Josie went inside to wash up for supper. As she turned back to call for Pip, however, Josie caught a glimpse of Adam's bare back and a dozen or so angry red weals between his shoulder blades. "Adam!" she cried in alarm as she rushed back to him. "What in the world happened?!"

Adam's brow wrinkled as he tried to deduce what Josie was on about. But when he felt Josie's finger tracing the little gouges on his back, the blood rushed to his face, and he chunked his axe into the log-splitting stump. "That's, uh, that's nothing, Josie," he said as he spun around to face her.

"It's nothing?!" Josie's eyebrows shot up as she took a closer look at her cousin's front side. "Adam, your chest, too! Come on, what happened?!"

Adam took a step back from Josie, whose fingers were reaching out again to inspect the damage to his skin. "I, uh, I fell into a briar patch."

"Oh, that must have been painful!" Josie replied, her eyes swimming with sympathy. She took a step forward and reached for him again. Adam tried to step back once more, but his calves bumped into the log-splitting stump, and he could go no farther. "I'll give you a salve for this," Josie continued. "I've got a good aloe-based one over in my clinic. It'll keep the itching at bay as these scab over."

Adam thanked her and turned back to his chore, hoping Josie would take the hint and go inside already. But Josie could be obnoxiously curious, and as Adam turned around, she took a closer look at the marks on his back.

"That's funny," she mused, running a finger gently along once scratch. "Thorns usually leave a round mark, like a big pinprick. These are longer." She looked down at her hands and then held one up to Adam's back, lining her fingers up with the scratches. "You know? These almost look like fingernail mar-" Her face shot crimson. Suddenly it all made sense: Adam's swallowed laughter in the clinic that afternoon and what he had actually meant by getting a "big thank-you" from Molly. "Oh my," she squeaked.

Adam's face was aflame now, too, and he kept his back to Josie and drummed his fingers on the axe handle as he tried to think of a way out of this conversation. Neither of them said anything for several long, mortifying seconds, until Josie swallowed hard and forced herself into her physician mode.

"Adam, uh, you, uh, you, you know how to avoid a shotgun wedding, right?"

Still facing away from Josie, Adam grimaced and gazed skyward. "That's why I came by the clinic earlier," he replied, toying with the axe handle. "I forgot that Paul wouldn't be there today."

"Ah."

The awkward silence descended on the cousins again, and Josie shifted her feet as Adam wished he could sink into the ground and disappear. The feeling only got worse when Josie spoke up again.

"You know, if you need… anything, I've got, um, supplies in my clinic."

"I'm fine!" Adam barked. He dug his boot heels hard into the dirt in a final, desperate attempt to convince the Earth to swallow him. "I'll see Paul next time I'm in town."

"Oh good," Josie sighed in relief. This conversation was bad enough without her having to walk down to her clinic and actually retrieve the items in question. "Well, I'll see you at supper!" She spun on her heel and darted into the house, her face still burning.

Inside, Josie washed up and hid in her bedroom when she heard Adam come inside. She was so embarrassed she wasn't sure she could ever look him in the eye again, though as the minutes ticked by, she caught herself wondering what a child of Adam's and Molly's would look like. By the time Ben, Hoss, and Joe had arrived home, she had decided that Adam's black hair would probably overpower Molly's auburn, but she thought Molly's green eyes might come through. Unless, of course, the child took after its Uncle Fionn, in which case, brown eyes would out. This got Josie thinking about Fionn's eyes. They had little flecks of gold in them like Simon's, but while Simon's eyes were serious, Fionn's were usually twinkling with mischief in a way that Josie found downright adorable.

The thought of Simon reminded Josie of the letters she had received, and she glanced over at her dressing table where she had set them when she came in. She had read all of them after lunch except for Simon's, and she now got up off her bed and crossed to the table. She plucked Simon's letter from the middle of the stack and frowned at it. She had ripped into each of his previous letters as if her life had depended on it, but today, she found herself less concerned with what Simon had to say. She still loved him – and she knew that in a way she always would – but like Adam, Josie got the impression that Simon was already planning to stay in San Francisco once his apprenticeship was up the following year, and deep down, Josie knew she may have to let him go. She turned the envelope over in her hand and stared at the back flap, debating whether to open it. Ben saved her from having to make the decision by calling her downstairs for supper.

Downstairs, Josie greeted Ben, Hoss, and Little Joe and avoided looking at Adam, who averted his gaze from her, too, as the family took their seats around the table. Ben noticed and raised an eyebrow, but he said nothing. He didn't sense anger between the cousins like he had the day that Josie had punched Fionn, but there was a palpable awkwardness between them. And other than not looking at Josie, Adam seemed unusually chipper. Ben sighed and blessed the food, deciding that at least on this occasion, ignorance was most likely bliss.

As they ate, Josie related to the family the contents of her father's letter. Dr. Jacob Cartwright had worked three days straight with no sleep following the Battle of Gettysburg, and his despair over the carnage came through his writing, but he was physically well and hoping that this battle would be a turning point and would bring the war to an end soon. He ended by saying how he planned to come to the Ponderosa for a long visit once the war was over.

"That would be wonderful!" Ben exclaimed. "Maybe we can convince him to stay for good, too." He winked at Josie, who grinned back at him.

"Wouldn't that be fantastic?!" Adam broke in. "The whole Cartwright family together again!" He beamed around the table at his father and brothers, though he still avoided looking at Josie.

"It would be the first time since, what year was that? '50?" Ben asked.

"Yeah," Adam answered. "Maybe we could even get Aunt Rachel to come along again!"

Four shocked expressions rested their open-mouthed gazes on Adam.

"Geez, Adam," Little Joe said. "You're awfully charitable this evening. What did you get into in town?"

The water Josie had just sipped shot out of her mouth, the spray sailing neatly over the long table and splattering all over Ben's face. Horrified, Josie shot out of her chair and dashed around the table to her uncle. She yanked her handkerchief out of her skirt pocket and began wiping off his face. "Oh, Uncle Ben, I am so sorry!"

"Thank you, Josephine, I'm fine," Ben insisted, snatching the handkerchief from her and drying his own face. He shot Adam a glance as if looking for an explanation for Josie's impression of a Roman fountain, but Adam just shrugged his shoulders, innocence plastered across his face. Ben handed Josie back her now-damp handkerchief and eyed his niece suspiciously as she made her way back to her seat. Deciding his best course of action was to change the subject, Ben turned to Little Joe. "Joseph, Hoss and I ran into Ross Marquette this afternoon, and he said his brother Matthew had found a big piece of wood with the Ponderosa brand on it down by the lake. Do you know anything about that?" Since Adam and Ross had been such good friends for so many years, all three of the Marquette brothers were welcome to cross onto Ponderosa land to fish or swim in Lake Tahoe whenever they liked; it wasn't unusual for the Cartwrights to run into them down there. Twenty-year-old Matthew, in particular, had been lurking about a good bit since Josie had split up with Simon.

Josie's eyes bugged out as Joe shot her a horrified glance, and she knew they were thinking the same thing: Matthew Marquette had found a piece of their wrecked canoe.

"A lump of wood, Pa?" Joe squeaked.

"Yeah," Ben said, scratching the back of his head. "Said it was about two feet by four. Looked like it had been part of a larger structure of some kind, but Matthew couldn't make out what exactly. Probably wouldn't have even caught his eye if not for the Ponderosa brand. Any idea what it could be?"

Little Joe shrugged his shoulders, managing to look nonchalant even as he wished, like his older brother before him, that the ground would swallow him whole. "Could be anything, Pa." He gazed back down at his plate, suddenly intent on using his biscuit to sop up the last few drops of brown gravy hiding behind his baked potato.

Ben turned to the only person he had not yet asked about this mystery. "Josephine?"

"Is it unusual for wood to wash up on the lakeshore?" she asked.

"Well, no. But it is unusual for wood to wash up bearing the Ponderosa brand."

Josie mimicked Little Joe and shrugged her shoulders. "Should count your branding irons. Make sure you're not missing one."

Ben nodded and let the matter go, but Adam looked over at Josie for the first time during the meal and saw that she was fighting to keep her face neutral and was avoiding eye contact with Little Joe. He had noticed how skillfully she had deflected Ben's question, and he thought it a shame that women couldn't be politicians.

Shortly after dinner, Josie discovered that Ben had managed to get into poison ivy that afternoon, so she headed out to walk the short distance down to her clinic to fetch some calamine lotion for him. Adam watched her skip out the front door with Pip in tow, and after deliberating for a few seconds, he rose from his seat on the settee and followed her. They had to get past this afternoon's embarrassment eventually, and Adam decided he'd rather just get it over with. Besides, his curiosity over that mysterious lump of wood was gnawing at him, and he had a strong hunch that Josie knew more about it than she was letting on.

Josie was halfway to the barn when Adam caught up to her, and she braced herself for the awkwardness. Adam, however, didn't say a word. He just took hold of her hand and walked with her toward her clinic. They were nearly to the little building when Adam finally spoke up.

"So tell me about this inexplicable piece of wood that Matthew found."

Josie burst out laughing. She had expected Adam to say something about their mortifying conversation earlier that evening, so this topic caught her completely off guard.

"All right," she said, shaking her head. "I suppose we never had much hope of keeping this to ourselves anyway." Over the next five minutes, Josie related the tale of her and Little Joe's adventures on Lake Tahoe: how the storm had cropped up and wrecked their canoe, how they'd had to kick their way to shore, and how Winnemucca and his men had helped them to get home.

Adam's jaw dropped, but he stayed quiet until Josie had finished the story. Josie expected him to laugh at her, but when she glanced over at him, she was surprised to see the moonlight reflecting off tears that were welling up in his eyes.

"Josie, why didn't you tell anyone you couldn't swim? We could have taught you ages ago. My god, you could have drowned!" He dropped her hand, gathered her in his arms, and buried his face in her dark hair.

"I'm sorry," Josie replied, her voice muffled in Adam's shirt. "For what it's worth, Joe taught me once we got home."

Adam felt a surge of love for his youngest brother – not only for his teaching Josie to swim, but also and most especially for saving her life out on the lake in the first place. "Good," he replied, releasing Josie and taking a step back. He held onto her shoulders and locked his gaze on hers. "Be careful out there in that big ol' world, Josie. We need you." He leaned in and gave her a little kiss on the forehead.

Josie smiled sheepishly. "That's more or less what Chief Winnemucca said. And I will. I promise." She took hold of Adam's hand again, and the pair resumed their stroll toward the clinic. As they reached the front steps, Josie spoke up again. "So Molly really liked that necklace, huh?" She flashed Adam a devilish grin.

Adam threw back his head and laughed. "She sure did," he said, his eyes twinkling. "I like that Derringer you got her, by the way."

Josie giggled. "Well, we have to keep Molly safe out there in that big ol' world. We need her."

Adam grinned. "We sure do."

"How madly in love are you?"

"Pretty darn."

Josie gave Adam's hand a squeeze and then released it so she could unlock the clinic. Josie skittered over to her medicine cabinet, unlocked it, and pulled out the bottle of calamine lotion for Ben. Giggling, she also snatched up the little jar of aloe salve, which she tossed to Adam. He caught it neatly and chuckled when he read the label.

"Thanks," he said.

Josie relocked her medicine cabinet, and the cousins stepped out onto the porch, where Josie also locked the front door. Then she took hold of Adam's extended hand once more, and the cousins strolled hand-in-hand back toward the welcoming glow of the ranch house.

It was Thursday morning before Josie remembered Simon's letter still sitting unopened on her dressing table. She had reached for her parents' and Michaela's letters to take them with her to her clinic to write her replies as she waited for patients, and her hand had brushed Simon's to the floor. Sighing, she picked it up, ripped open the envelope, and began to read.

Tobin Furniture  
San Francisco, California  
Saturday, August 1, 1863

Dear Josie,

Thank you for your letter of July 13. That is amazing news about the Virginia City library. I can't wait to hear more about it. If anyone can make this library a success, it's you.

Mr. Tobin is teaching me so much here in San Francisco. He says he's real pleased with how fast I'm learning and that he wouldn't be surprised if I became the best furniture maker in California someday. I love it here in San Francisco. There's always so much going on, and there's so many people here! It's much more exciting than Virginia City, and I can sell more furniture here in a month than I would in a year in Nevada. I think you'd like it here, Josie. You could do well here as a doctor. San Francisco already has a couple, but there are so many people coming into the city every day that we could use another one, especially one as good as you. It's too bad you and Adam are going to Sacramento for your birthday instead of here. I miss you.

Please give your family my best. I hope you'll write back soon. I love you.

Yours always,

Simon

Josie felt a pang of sadness as she gazed at the familiar handwriting. Simon seemed so happy living in San Francisco, and Josie didn't miss the fact that while he had suggested she move to San Francisco, he had said nothing about his returning to Virginia City. She was about to stuff the letter into her bag with the others when she spotted the copy of _Jane Eyre_ that Fionn had brought from Reno. Sally Cass's father had consented to let them use the empty space attached to his store for the library, but the friends hadn't started moving anything in yet – they still needed shelves – so Josie had been keeping the volume on her dressing table. Josie smiled as she remembered how Fionn had driven straight through the night to make sure he caught her in town so he could give it to her. As a result, the young man had been so tired during their lunch together that he had nearly fallen asleep in his meatloaf. Josie had practically had to drag him back to the clinic, where she had coaxed him into getting a few hours' sleep in the upstairs bedroom before he collected Molly and drove home. With a little smirk, Josie dropped Simon's letter back on her dressing table, tucked _Jane Eyre_ under her arm to read in case business was slow, and skipped downstairs for breakfast.

By the time Saturday afternoon rolled around, Josie had read three-quarters of _Jane Eyre_ and had finally replied to Simon's letter with a quick note that just said she was glad he was enjoying San Francisco and to let her know if he thought he would be coming home to visit. She and Adam had spent most of the day trying to contain their growing excitement over the O'Connells' impending visit. Hoss had invited Patience, too, and the two big men and the little lady had argued for ten minutes over who got the first bath. Josie won in the end, having used her small size to her advantage and slipping between Adam and Hoss as they squabbled in the hallway. She had already undressed and begun pumping water before the brothers realized they'd been bamboozled.

Hoss banged on the closed door. "You better not use up all the hot water in there!"

"Sorry, I can't hear you over the sound of me pumping all the hot water into the bathtub!" Josie called back before dissolving into giggles.

Hoss and Adam scowled at the door.

"Don't worry, big brothers," Little Joe said, coming up behind Hoss and Adam and draping his arms across their shoulders. "There's plenty of water outside in the horse trough. Should be nice and warm, too, after sitting out in the sun all day." Joe snickered and shot downstairs before his brothers could retaliate.

Adam glared at Joe's back as the young man scooted down the hall. "We should have eaten him when he was an infant," he grumbled.

"Does seem like a missed opportunity, don't it?" Hoss agreed.

Inside the washroom, Josie sank into a tub brimming with what she hoped was at least most of the hot water supply. She couldn't explain her excitement about supper with Molly and Fionn; she had seen them both within the past week, so she decided she must be excited on Adam's behalf. It had been four days since Adam had last seen Molly, and he still wore a huge, goofy smile most of the time. After her bath, Josie stood in front of her open wardrobe trying to choose between a green gingham dress and her favorite ruby-red calico when she remembered Fionn mentioning once that his favorite color was green. Without another second of deliberation, Josie grabbed the green gingham.

Eventually, Adam, Hoss, and Josie were all clean and dressed with enough time left over for Ben and Joe to get baths, too. By the time Little Joe got into the tub, however, there was not even any lukewarm water left, and his bath was a pool of cold water, straight out of the well. Adam and Hoss cackled with delight as they heard Joe let loose a high-pitched "EEK!" as he sank into the water.

Adam banged on the washroom door and called out to his baby brother. "Don't forget, Joe! There's always the horse trough!"

Having fought a long, valiant battle with her hair, Josie was the last one downstairs. All four Cartwright men, plus Hop Sing, smiled when they saw her descend the staircase in the green dress that complemented her hazel eyes so nicely. Ben stepped over to the staircase and took her hand to help her down the last few steps.

"You look beautiful, my dear, as always," he said, kissing her cheek.

"Thank you," Josie replied with a smile. "I just wish I had a necklace. I broke the clasp on my gold locket, and I don't have any others."

Hoss broke into a grin and opened his mouth, but Adam stomped on his foot before he could spoil the surprise of the diamond necklace Adam had bought for Josie in San Francisco. It was still tucked away in its box in the bottom of Adam's sock drawer to be presented to Josie on her birthday next month.

"You look beautiful even without one," Little Joe said. He offered his arm to Josie with a grand flourish and escorted her to the porch so they could watch for their guests to arrive.

Patience arrived first in her family's wagon, and Hoss charged into the yard and swung her down from the seat and planted a big kiss on her right in front of the entire family.

"Hey there, sweetheart!" Hoss said. "Wait until you see the plans Older Brother drew up for our house!"

Patience beamed at Hoss and then over at Adam. "I can't wait!" she chirped as she took Hoss's arm and let him lead her to the porch where she greeted the rest of the family. "It doesn't _really_ have seven bedrooms, does it?" she asked Adam as she gave him a quick hug.

Adam laughed. "No, ma'am. Hoss talked me down to six."

Patience's eyes grew huge as she cast a questioning look at Josie.

"I'm afraid he's not joking," Josie said. "You might want to start looking for a housekeeper."

"Come on, Adam, let's show her the plans!" Hoss urged his brother.

"You know where they are, Hoss. How about you show her? I want to wait for Molly."

"Oh, right!" Hoss gave Adam a big wink and led his bride-to-be into the house.

No sooner had Hoss and Patience disappeared inside then Fionn and Molly rolled up in their wagon. Adam and Josie both sprang off the porch to greet the O'Connells.

"Hello, Molly!" Adam cheered as he swung her down from the wagon and gave her a kiss. She was wearing the lavender-and-blue gingham dress she had worn at the Fourth of July, and Adam felt a rush of heat shoot from the top of his head all the way down to his toes. Though it didn't quite match, Molly wore her new emerald necklace, too.

"Why, hello, No-Longer-Just-Adam!" she whispered in his ear.

Ben watched the greeting from the porch and couldn't help but notice the proprietary way Adam kept one arm wrapped around Molly's waist as he led her toward the house, rather than offering her his arm. Ben raised an eyebrow as he remembered Josie's strange reaction to Little Joe's comment about Adam's good mood at dinner the other night, and he suddenly suspected that perhaps Adam had not slept at the International House when he was in town after all.

"Good for you, son," he thought as he swallowed a little smirk.

While Ben and Joe greeted Molly, Josie skipped over to the wagon to say hello to Fionn.

"Hey, You!" Fionn cheered as he jumped down from the wagon. He threw his arms wide and caught Josie up in a hug before holding her at arm's length. "And don't you look like a picture this evening?"

Josie blushed and ducked her head. "Thanks. You look nice, too."

Fionn didn't own a suit, but he was wearing his nicest pair of pants and a crisp white shirt and had even polished his boots. Pip came bounding up to him, and Fionn gave the wolfhound a hearty scratch on the head before turning back to the wagon and pulling a big marrow bone out from under the seat. Pip snatched it from him and took off toward the barn. Chuckling, Fionn offered Josie his arm and led her toward the house.

Ben raised his other eyebrow as he watched Josie and Fionn. There was a platonic distance between them, but the way Josie had blushed gave him pause, and his face darkened. Josie was just emerging from one heartbreak, and Ben wasn't keen to nurse her through another one.

"Watch it, O'Connell," he muttered under his breath.

"What's that, Pa?" Little Joe queried.

Ben started; he had almost forgotten Little Joe was still next to him. "Nothing, Joseph." He clapped his hands together. "Well, everyone! Let's not keep Hop Sing waiting!"

During the meal, the ladies chattered excitedly about Hoss and Patience's wedding plans. Patience described the color she wanted for the bridesmaids' dresses, and Molly began tossing out ideas for styles. Meanwhile, Ben asked Fionn polite questions about his farm and expected fall harvest.

"If my corn crop was any indication, it's going to be grand, Mr. Cartwright!" Fionn replied brightly, and Josie turned away from her conversation long enough to smile at him. "I never expected to do this well me first year."

"That's a good piece of land you've got," Ben said. "You take care of it, and you'll do well for yourself."

"Yes, sir. And I'll bring you some pumpkins when I harvest them. Hey, You – I mean 'Josie' – told me you all love pumpkin pie."

After dinner, everyone settled down with brandy and coffee in the living room and engaged in some more conversation. After an hour or so, though, Fionn tired of the chitchat and grabbed Josie's hand and dragged her outside.

"Where are we going?" she asked with a surprised laugh. It was past ten o'clock and had been dark outside for more than an hour.

"Not far. Come on!"

Josie nearly had to sprint to keep up with Fionn as he zipped across the front yard and ducked behind the barn. Pip, who had finished his bone and had been amusing himself by chasing the barn cats, bounded over to them.

"Fionn, really, where are we going?"

"Just away from the light. Here." Fionn sat down on the ground and leaned against the barn. He patted the ground next to him, and with a quizzical look, Josie sat down next to him. "Look up," Fionn urged.

Josie did, but all she saw were the same summer constellations that passed through every year. "What am I looking for, exactly?"

"You'll know when you see it. Keep looking."

Suddenly, a bright white meteor blazed across the middle of Sagittarius, and Josie squealed with delight. "Fionn! Did you see that?!"

Fionn broke into a wide grin. "Aye. Make a wish and keep watchin'!"

As the friends watched, meteor after meteor streaked across the inky sky. Josie tried to count them, but she lost track somewhere in the forties. She sat awestruck as the meteors continued to soar through the sky. "How did you know this would happen?" she asked, never lowering her gaze from the heavens.

"It's called the Perseid meteor shower," Fionn replied. "Happens every year around this time, but this is the biggest one anyone's ever seen. It peaked about a week ago, but it looks like it's still goin' strong, if you ask me." He was getting a kink in his neck, so he scooted away from the barn a bit and lay down on the cool ground. Pip curled up next to him and rested his scruffy chin on Fionn's stomach.

"Well don't you talk just like a book," Josie teased as she reached out and gave Pip's head a scratch. "Have you been hanging around with Adam?"

Fionn stuck out his lower lip and pretended to pout. "Adam's not the only one in this town what knows a thing or two about science." He paused, letting Josie be impressed for a moment. "Albert Michelson told me."

Josie broke out into giggles. Ben had helped the bright young Albert win a scholarship to the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, just before Josie arrived in Nevada, and the young man had come home for the summer to visit his parents. Josie kept gazing skyward, but she was developing a cramp in her neck, too, so she stretched out on the ground next to Fionn, not caring that she was getting her dress dusty. The ground was lumpy, and she shifted around, trying to find a comfortable spot to rest her head.

"Don't misjudge my intentions, Hey, You," Fionn said. "Just tryin' to be helpful." He wiggled his left arm under Josie's head so she could use it as a pillow.

Josie smiled. "Thanks," she said, shifting her head on Fionn's arm to find just the right spot. "This is beautiful."

"Aye." Fionn smiled as yet another meteor danced across the night sky. "I got to watch it the whole way home from Reno Monday night."

"I still can't believe you drove all night just to bring me a book. You didn't have to do that."

Fionn sighed. "Yes, I did. Been a long time since I've had a proper friend." He hesitated, swallowing hard before continuing. "I had some… trouble back in San Francisco, and, well, Molly and I, we found out we didn't really have the friends we thought we did."

"I know. Adam told me."

Fionn would have sat bolt upright in surprise if Pip's chin and Josie's head hadn't been pinning him to the ground. "And it didn't bother you?! Not even a little bit? Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, Hey, You, I was tried for attempted murder!"

Josie shrugged her shoulders and readjusted her head on Fionn's arm. "No, it didn't bother me. If nothing else, it didn't bother Adam, and that's good enough for me. Besides, you were acquitted of that charge, and you'd only done what you had to do to protect Molly. I would have done the same thing. If I ever saw anyone beating on Adam or Joe like that…" She trailed off as she remembered finding Adam in the desert the previous summer and how very lucky Peter Kane had been to have already been dead by the time Adam told his family the story of his abduction.

Fionn chuckled up at the stars. "Just Adam and Joe? You wouldn't fly to Hoss's defense?"

One corner of Josie's mouth twisted up in amusement and she turned her head to look at Fionn. "Have you met Hoss Cartwright?"

Fionn and Josie both laughed. "Aye," Fionn said. "Supposin' he can take care of himself, can't he?" They fell silent again as the brightest meteor they'd seen so far shot across the sky. "San Francisco was pretty bad for a while," Fionn continued softly. "But I suppose it was for the best, seein' as how it brought Molly and me here. This is the first place I've ever felt I really belonged. Since we left Ireland, anyway."

"I hear that," Josie replied. "And I'm glad you're here. Molly's so wonderful that if Adam doesn't marry her, I might, just to make sure she sticks around!"

Pip's head bounced on Fionn's stomach as the young man laughed. "The two of you would be healthy and well dressed, that's for sure!"

Josie grinned and reached over to scratch Pip's head again. "You're a good friend, Fionn. Just what I've needed this summer."

The smile vanished from Fionn's face as he stared up at the sky. "Even though I'm the one who caused the trouble?"

Josie heard the guilt in his voice, and she sighed in exasperation. "For the last time, Simon's reaction was not your fault! That was all him. Besides, I live with Joe. I'm used to trouble."

Fionn's smile reappeared as he remembered a very haggard Josie showing up at his house to tell him about the canoe wreck and that she and Joe no longer needed to be picked up at the lake. "Aye, suppose that's true, isn't it?" He paused and licked his lips before continuing. "Speaking of trouble, the Marquettes are havin' a dance two weeks from tonight. Would you like to go? You know, as friends?"

Josie's immediate impulse was to say no – dancing reminded her of Simon. But then the memory of dancing with Fionn at the Fourth of July festival popped into her mind, and she smiled. "I'd love to!"

Fionn beamed so brightly the stars went dim. "I expect Adam, Hoss, and Joe will want to go, too, so I guess it would be easiest if Molly and I just met you all there."

Josie agreed and scooted a little closer to Fionn so she could rest her head on his shoulder – it was more comfortable than his arm, and she guessed that he was probably losing the feeling in his left hand by now. They lost track of time as they lay there, silently watching the celestial fireworks. After what must have been an hour but felt like mere minutes, Pip's head perked up, and seconds later, Josie and Fionn heard the guests exiting the house.

"Hey, Josie! Fionn! Where'd you go off to?" Ben's voice called out.

"Be right there, Uncle Ben!" Josie called back. She and Fionn rose stiffly to their feet and brushed the dust from their clothes. Fionn grinned and extended his hand to Josie. With a bashful smile she took it, and they walked hand-in-hand back around the front of the barn and across the yard with Pip trotting behind.

"There they are!" Little Joe said when he spotted them.

"Sorry for disappearing," Josie said. "We were watching the meteor shower."

Everyone else looked up just in time to see another meteor sail across the sky.

"Oh, yeah," Adam said. "I'd heard it was good this year."

Fionn gave Josie's hand a little squeeze before letting go and bounding onto the porch to stand next to Molly. "We should probably go and let the Cartwrights get some sleep," he said.

Molly cast a longing look at Adam but agreed with Fionn. She bid farewell to the Cartwrights and Patience and then walked with Adam over to the O'Connells' wagon, where the couple embraced in a passionate goodbye kiss. Hoss, meanwhile, was kissing Patience goodbye, and Fionn was giving Josie a tight hug.

Watching the open displays of affection, Little Joe snorted in disgust, threw up his hands and declared "That's it! I can't take this anymore!" He stormed off the porch where he had been standing next to Ben and set off across the yard.

"Where are you going?" Ben hollered after him.

"To drown myself in the lake!"

Josie laughed, released Fionn, and jogged over to Joe. She grabbed his hand and led him back to the porch, where they were joined by Adam and Hoss. Together, the Cartwrights waved goodbye as their guests rolled out of the yard. When the two wagons had disappeared around the barn, Ben turned to his family and announced that he was going to bed.

"I'll second that motion," Adam said as a yawn split his jaw.

As they all made their way inside, Hoss turned to his siblings. "Hey, Patience told me the Marquettes were havin' a dance in two weeks. You all wanna go?"

"Yeah, Ross mentioned that when I saw him the other day," Adam said. "Molly and I already made plans to attend."

"Me, too!" Josie chirped. "I told Fionn I'd meet him there."

Three sets of eyes turned to Little Joe.

"Well, of course, I'll go!" he said. "Any chance to rub elbows with the ladies." He flashed his trademark smile.

"Two weeks from tonight?" Ben asked, pausing on the staircase landing.

"Yeah," Adam answered. "Why?"

"You all can't go out two Saturdays from now," Ben said. "We're dedicating the new schoolhouse the next day after church. I'm on the school board; I can't miss that."

"So go," Joe said. "You don't need us."

Ben's eyebrows shot up and he raised a warning finger at his youngest son. "Oh, yes, I do, young man. As the architect who designed the building, Adam needs to be there, and I'll not have the entire town asking where the rest of you are. We're one of the prominent families in this area, and we ALL need to be present at this dedication."

"Yes, Aunt Rachel," Josie muttered, a bit too loudly.

Ben spun on his heel and stormed back down the stairs. The four siblings bunched together and backed up as their patriarch advanced on them; even Pip retreated. Ben bore down on them until he cornered them against the closed front door. He leaned in close, and somehow managed to make eye contact with all four of them at the same time.

"You four listen to me, and you listen good. I said we're ALL going to attend the dedication of the new schoolhouse, and that's precisely what's going to happen. And if anyone has a problem with that, he – OR she – is welcome to spend the night _in the barn_!" Adam and Hoss had to dodge Ben's finger as he stabbed it toward the door.

"Sorry, Uncle Ben," Josie mumbled to her shoes.

"Yeah, sorry, Pa," Adam, Hoss, and Joe all echoed, though Adam and Hoss weren't sure why they were apologizing, when it had been Joe and Josie who'd done all the sassing.

Ben grunted, waggled his finger at them one last time, and stalked back upstairs. Nobody moved until they heard his bedroom door slam shut, and then they let out their breath in a collective sigh.

"Way to go, Josie," Little Joe sneered as he slunk over to the settee and flopped down, propping his feet up on the coffee table out of spite.

"Sorry," Josie answered. "I didn't mean to say it that loud." She trudged over to the blue armchair and plunked down.

"Well, now what?" Hoss asked, plopping himself onto the settee next to Joe. "I promised Patience I'd take her to that dance. Don't think it bodes well for our marriage if I start breakin' promises already!"

Adam ran a hand through his hair and dropped into Ben's burgundy armchair. The other three turned to him and waited for him to determine their next move. "This is ridiculous!" he exclaimed at length. "Here we are, four grown adults, being told by our father that we're not allowed to go out. I say if we want to go to the dance, then we go to the damn dance! If we're a little sleepy for the schoolhouse dedication the next day, then so be it!"

"That's the spirit, Adam!" Josie cheered.

"Yeah!" Hoss agreed.

Joe grinned briefly, but then his face fell. "So who's gonna tell Pa we're going anyway?"

All eyes turned to Adam once more, but he shook his head, and the Cartwrights shifted their gazes around the room to one another, waiting for someone to volunteer.

"We're waiting until he falls asleep and then sneaking out, aren't we?" Josie finally asked.

"Yeah," Adam sighed and dropped his head in defeat.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

Over the next two weeks, Josie and Joe spent a lot of time meeting with Sally, Fionn, and Patience to plan the fall festival that they hoped would fund the opening of the library. They planned apple-bobbing, dancing, taffy pulling, horseshoes, a spelling bee, a bake sale, numerous games for the children, and, of course, the Cartwright brothers' favorite: a massive tug-of-war match. They also started putting posters up around town announcing the formation of the library and asking for donations of books and money, and by the night of the dance, they had already collected twenty volumes, which they placed with great fanfare on a shelf Will Cass had given them.

Meanwhile, Ben, Hoss, and Adam had been getting their supplies together to build Hoss and Patience's house down in Hoss Heaven, a green little section of land with a cheerful stream burbling through the middle. Ben donated the building supplies as his wedding gift to Hoss and Patience, and with the help of a dozen hired men, they had broken ground and begun setting a foundation before the end of August.

Neither Adam nor Molly was able to find an excuse for them both to need to stay in town overnight again, but any time Adam found himself in Virginia City, he slipped over to Molly's shop to take her to lunch or for an afternoon stroll and often found himself in her back room afterwards. After his embarrassing conversation with Josie, Adam had procured his "supplies" from Dr. Martin, and Molly was more than happy to give him opportunities to use them – though they were always careful to close the window lest they alarm Widow Hawkins again.

The morning of the dance, the Cartwright siblings made themselves scarce to avoid attracting Ben's attention. Adam and Joe spent the day in the barn building two more sets of shelves for the library, and Hoss lit out for the carriage house to grease the axles on the wagons. Josie sequestered herself and Pip in her clinic and gave the entire place a good scrubbing before lying down for an afternoon nap on her cot in the loft. She knew she would be out late that night and up early the next morning, so she thought she should catch some sleep while she could.

The dance started at eight o'clock, which was early even for Ben to hit the sack, so the Cartwrights had already told their dates they'd be late. Josie had enlisted Hop Sing's help, and the cook had made up several loaves of fresh bread and a huge vat of mashed potatoes – starchy foods guaranteed to help make someone sleepy. Little Joe had gone so far as to suggest that Josie drug Ben's evening brandy, but as Joe well knew, laudanum tasted so terrible that it would take a lethal dose of brandy to mask the flavor, so they nixed that idea and just hid the coffee beans instead.

Right after supper, Josie stretched and yawned and announced she was heading to bed.

"So early?" Ben asked, mildly alarmed. He studied Josie, searching for signs of illness. Ever since Josie's close call with typhus, the entire family jumped every time she sneezed. "Are you all right?"

"Oh, yes!" Josie replied, kissing Ben's cheek. "I just want to well rested for tomorrow. Don't want to fall asleep in the middle of Reverend Lovejoy's sermon!" She smiled at him and skipped up the stairs toward her bedroom.

Once there with the door closed securely behind her, Josie set about getting dressed for the dance. She considered wearing the green gingham again since Fionn liked it so well, but even she had enough fashion sense not to repeat a dress so soon, and she grabbed her red calico instead. As she dressed, she heard a set of footsteps coming down the hallway, and she held her breath as her ears strained to make out who it was. The footsteps were too light to be Hoss's and too heavy to be Joe's, but Josie couldn't tell if it was Adam or Ben. When she heard the creaky floorboard outside Adam's bedroom, she frowned; she had hoped it was Ben headed to bed. Some rustling in the room adjacent to hers told her that Adam was rummaging in his wardrobe for his suit. Well, Josie thought, if Adam was getting dressed, Ben must be at least close to going to bed.

Ten minutes later, as Josie was finishing pinning up her hair, she heard her uncle's footsteps carry him into his bedroom. She checked the clock on her wall, gathered up her dancing slippers into a little bag to hang from her saddle, and then pulled on her boots. Despite Josie's dress, the siblings had decided to ride horses to the Marquettes' rather than taking a wagon; horses were faster and quieter.

Down the hall, Little Joe poked his head tentatively out of his bedroom door and glanced around. He strained his ears but heard no sound from his father's room at the other end, so he stepped out of his room and tiptoed down the stairs, across the living room, and out the front door. He slipped out the front door and made his way carefully across the yard to the barn to start saddling horses. Five minutes later, Hoss did the same and joined Joe in the barn. Another five minutes, and Adam stepped over the creaky floorboard outside his room and joined his brothers.

When it was Josie's turn to leave, however, she heard Ben's door open and her uncle step out into the hall. She held her breath, terrified that he would knock on one of her brothers' doors. She grabbed her dressing gown, ready to throw it on over her dress if he came to her door, and she breathed a sigh of relief when she heard him pumping water into the sink in the washroom instead. She waited, listening at her door, until Ben finished washing up and then ambled back to his room. Only when she heard the creak of his bed ropes did she open her door and peek out into the hall.

Outside, Adam was in the barn saddling up Sport and Scout while Joe and Hoss waited in the yard for Josie. Just when Little Joe was about to sneak back inside to see what the hold-up was, Josie appeared at her front bedroom window.

"Hoss!" she hissed. "C'mere!"

Hoss and Little Joe shot each other a quizzical look and hustled over under Josie's window.

"What're you doin' up there?" Hoss hissed back. "Why ain't you down _here_?!"

"I'm trying!" Josie whispered. "Catch me!"

Hoss and Joe bit back gasps of alarm as they watched Josie grab hold of her window frame and climb out onto the shingled overhang, but Hoss hustled over to the roofline, ready to catch her, as she'd commanded.

Adam emerged from the barn with Sport and Scout just in time to see Josie drop from the edge of the overhang. With a strangled cry, he dropped the horses' reins and darted for the house. Josie giggled as Hoss caught her neatly and set her on her feet on the ground. When Adam reached the house, he grabbed Josie's shoulder and spun her around.

"Man alive, Josie!" he blurted, his eyes scanning her to make sure she was uninjured. "What were you thinking?!"

"I was thinking I didn't want to get caught sneaking out!" she stage-whispered. "And all my efforts will be for naught if you don't keep your voice down!" She shook her head in disgust as Adam relaxed his grip on her shoulders. "Uncle Ben's door was open. There was no way I could've made it down the hall undetected, so I had to improvise. Poor Pip's trapped in my room for the night, I'm afraid."

Adam wiped a bead of sweat from his brow as the adrenaline coursing through his body slowed to a trickle and his heartbeat returned to normal. "Please don't ever do that to me again."

Josie kissed his cheek. "I'm sorry, Adam. I'll try to give you more warning the next time I need to jump off a roof."

Adam rolled his eyes as Hoss took him and Josie each by an elbow. "C'mon you two," he said. "We better get outta here before Papa Bear discovers we ain't in bed."

Adam and Josie nodded in agreement, and the four Cartwrights mounted up. Josie took a bit of shifting around before she was settled – she hated riding in dresses – but they were soon ready and walked their horses quietly out of the yard.

The dance was in full swing in the Marquettes' front yard by the time the Cartwrights arrived, and they spent the first ten minutes finding their dates and greeting everyone. While several young ladies nudged each other and whispered how cute Adam and Molly were together, Hoss and Patience were the true stars of the party. This was their first large social gathering since their engagement a few weeks earlier, and all the young men congratulated Hoss while the young ladies gushed over Patience's ring. Hoss's face glowed red through the whole affair, and he breathed a sigh of relief when it was all over and he and Patience could just dance. Fionn grabbed Josie's hand and dragged her onto the dance floor, too, but Adam and Molly stayed off to the side for a few minutes to chat with Ross and Delphine Marquette.

"You look lovely this evening, Dell," Adam said, giving the lady a low bow and kissing the back of her hand.

Delphine shook her head in amusement. "Thank you, Adam, but much of the credit goes to Molly here for making my dress."

Molly blushed as she thanked Delphine for the compliment.

"She's pretty amazing," Adam agreed, wrapping his arm around Molly's waist and giving her a little squeeze. Ross caught Adam's eye and gave him a questioning look, which Adam returned with a raised eyebrow; he knew what Ross was trying to ask, but he wasn't yet ready to divulge any plans. Ross opened his mouth to speak, and Adam prepared to kick him in the shin when Delphine cut in.

"I was hoping to speak with Josie tonight, but it looks like she's already been claimed." She nodded her head toward the dance floor where Josie and Fionn were taking their places for the Virginia Reel.

Ross chuckled. "Much to my brother's dismay, it would seem." He jerked his head in the opposite direction, where Matthew was sulking next to the barn.

Adam grinned. "You have to be quick to catch my Josie." He glanced around, half expecting to see Little Joe sulking nearby, too, and was pleased when he spotted his youngest brother lining up for the Virginia Reel with Amy Bishop. He had lost Rebecca Croft's attention again – she and Tom Billings, the banker's son, were quite smitten with one another as of late – but it hadn't seemed to have cost Joe any confidence.

Adam and Molly chatted with Ross and Delphine throughout the reel, but they joined the whirling throng for the songs that followed. Adam didn't take his eyes off of Molly the entire night. He wasn't sure what he had done to deserve such luck, and he didn't want to avert his gaze for even an instant for fear Molly would turn out to be nothing but an apparition and vanish. But her hand lay warm on his shoulder as they danced to song after song, and Adam began to let himself believe she really was his.

After two dances, Fionn nudged Josie and gestured toward Adam and Molly, who were staring at each other as if they were the only two people in the whole world. Josie and Fionn smiled at each other and set off hand-in-hand for the punch bowl.

"So where's me best friend tonight?" Fionn asked as he ladled pink punch into two cups.

Josie stuck her tongue out at him as she accepted one of the cups. "I'm right here, you fool."

"Not you!" Fionn laughed. "Me other best friend! The hairy one!"

Josie giggled and told Fionn how Pip had gotten trapped in her bedroom as she snuck out of the house. Fionn roared with laughter when Josie related how she had gone out the window and jumped off the roof.

"Now that's usin' your head, Hey, You!" He gave Josie's cheek a little tweak and then sipped at his punch. "That's not bad," he said, glancing into the cup. "Though I'm really lookin' forward to when we can start makin' apple cider in another month or so. That's me favorite."

Josie's face lit up. "That's a great idea, Fionn! We should make apple cider to sell at the fall festival! Hop Sing always gets more apples than we could possibly eat. I'm sure Uncle Ben would let us have the extras."

"Have you ever made cider before?"

"Well, no, but Uncle Ben makes applejack every Christmas. How different can it be?"

"Not very, really," Fionn said. "I've made both a few times meself. Be glad to help you."

Josie smiled at him, grabbed his hand, and led him back to the dance floor.

Toward the end of the evening when Fionn ducked away to use the outhouse, Delphine grabbed Josie and pulled her to the side of the house, away from all the other guests. Josie thought Dell was going to pump her for information about Adam and Molly, so she was unprepared for what Delphine said after she checked that no one could overhear.

"Josie, I'm late," she whispered.

Josie's face fell. "I know, I'm sorry. Uncle Ben didn't want us coming tonight because we all have to go to church and the schoolhouse dedication tomorrow morning. We had to wait until he fell asleep so we could sneak out."

Delphine blinked a few times in confusion. "Oh, no, not you!" she said at last. "Me! I'm late."

"How could you possibly have been late?" Josie asked, wrinkling her brow. "You live here. Did you go into town this afternoon or something?" She couldn't for the life of her understand why Delphine felt it was so important to tell her that she had been late for her own party. Josie and Dell were friendly, but they weren't exactly close.

Delphine rolled her eyes and pointed to her abdomen. "No, Josie, _I'm late_."

Josie's eyes popped as she finally understood what Delphine was trying to tell her. "Oh!" she exclaimed, her face splitting into a grin. "How late?"

"About ten days. And I've been sick every morning for the past four."

"Dell, that's wonderful!" Josie beamed at her. Delphine and Ross had been married nearly ten years and did not yet have any children, though it was no secret that they wanted them, so Josie was surprised to see tears spring to Delphine's eyes. "Dell, what's wrong?"

Delphine pulled a handkerchief from her dress pocket and dabbed at her eyes. "Ross and I have never told anyone this – not even Adam – but I've lost four babies. I don't seem to have any trouble getting pregnant every couple of years, but I've never carried one past the third month. Josie, I'm so frightened. I can't go through this again, I-" She broke off crying, and Josie caught her up in an embrace. Delphine clung to her, gripping the back of Josie's dress so tightly that Josie feared for her buttons. But she didn't let Dell go. The older woman sobbed into her shoulder for several minutes before breaking away, embarrassed. "I'm so sorry, Josie," she sniffled as she wiped her eyes on her now-sodden handkerchief.

"Dell, it's okay. I don't blame you for being scared. What did Ross say when you told him?"

The look Delphine gave Josie spoke volumes.

"Dell, you have to tell him. He's the father. He deserves to know."

Delphine nodded sadly. "I just don't know how. It kills me to know I have to break his heart again. Sometimes I wonder why he even stays with me!" She broke out weeping again, and Josie offered up her own handkerchief – Delphine's had reached the limits of its absorption.

Josie laid a comforting hand on Delphine's shoulder. "Have you felt all right besides the nausea? Any cramping?"

Dell shook her head and let out a small hiccup. "No, no pain. Just the sickness, and I've been really tired."

Josie gave her a small smile. "Well, that's all very normal, then. Let's see, if you're ten days late, that means you're probably about a month along. Tell you what? Why don't you and Ross come by my clinic first thing on Monday? If you just tell him you've been feeling poorly, I'm sure he'll bring you right in. I can examine you, and then we can tell him together. Would that help?"

Delphine burst into tears a third time and grabbed Josie up in another hug. "Yes! Thank you so much!"

Josie stepped back, took back her handkerchief, and blotted Delphine's face. "That's settled then. We'll just take this one step at a time, ok?"

Delphine nodded and gave Josie a watery smile. "Thank you, Josie," she repeated, almost in a whisper. "I don't know what I would have done without you. Dr. Martin is a good doctor, but, well, he's a 'he,' you know?"

Josie grinned. Delphine Marquette was hardly the first woman to spill her secrets to Josie, who was pretty certain she knew more about the reproductive health of the women of Virginia City than Dr. Paul Martin could ever imagine. She linked her arm through Dell's, and together they returned to the dance.

Josie danced away the rest of the night with Fionn, though she did, of course, grab Adam for the final number. Fionn snatched up Molly instead, and everyone laughed as Fionn swept his sister around the dance floor in a lively jig.

"Fionn, it's a waltz!" Hoss called to him as Molly and Fionn shimmied past completely out of time to the music.

"Well, sure, if you want to do it the easy way!" Fionn hollered back.

Adam and Josie laughed as they watched Fionn and Molly find an open spot on the dance floor and break into a traditional Irish dance, their upper bodies completely still, but their feet tapping out mad rhythms on the ground.

"If I didn't know better, I'd say he was corned," Adam chuckled.

"Fionn doesn't need to be drunk to have fun," Josie replied. "He just needs to be Fionn." Adam didn't fail to notice the fondness with which Josie smiled as she watched Fionn and Molly complete their dance and make several grand bows to the applauding throng. She gave Adam a quick hug and a peck on the cheek, and then skipped over to Fionn to say goodnight.

"That was marvelous, Fionn!" Josie said. "You have to teach me to dance like that!"

"Gladly!" Fionn replied, draping an arm around her shoulders. He led her back to the punchbowl, where they enjoyed a final cup of punch before Adam and Molly ambled over.

"We better get out of here," Adam said, glancing at his pocket watch. "Pa's gonna have us up early."

Josie groaned but drained the last of her punch and gave Fionn a swift kiss on the cheek. "Will I see you soon?"

"Mad Paiutes couldn't keep me away." Fionn tweaked her cheek again and traded Adam Josie for Molly.

It took Adam and Josie another fifteen minutes to round up Hoss and Little Joe. Josie had to remind Hoss that he would see Patience again in just a few hours, and Adam nearly needed a crowbar to pry Joe away from Amy Bishop – the pair had snuck off for a bit of necking behind the barn and were less than pleased to see the oldest Cartwright brother descend on them. At last, however, they had regrouped and said their goodbyes to the Marquettes – Delphine giving Josie a warm hug and whispering a promise in her ear to come by the clinic on Monday. Then the four Cartwrights mounted up and set off for home.

It was two a.m. by the time they trotted into their own yard, and Adam offered to groom Scout so Josie could slip upstairs first – sneaking out one at a time had worked so well that they had decided on the ride home to sneak back in the same way. Josie said goodnight to her cousins at the barn and then crept across the yard and onto the porch. She swung the front door open as quietly as she could and tiptoed across the living room and up the stairs. As she made her way down the hall, she spotted a beam of silvery moonlight dribbling across the floor, and she knew her uncle's bedroom door was still open. She held her breath and listened intently, her shoulders sagging in relief when she heard Ben's soft, even breathing waft out of his room. Sidestepping the squeaky floorboard outside Adam's room, she cracked open her own door and slipped into her bedroom.

Pip nearly gave her away. The giant dog had heard Scout's familiar hoof beats clip-clop up to the barn, and he had been waiting eagerly at the door for Josie to appear. He let out one sharp, enthusiastic bark when Josie slid into the room, and her hands shot out to clap his jaws shut.

"Shhhhhh, Pippie!" she hissed. "Don't wake Uncle Ben!"

Pip thumped his tail against Josie's wardrobe, making almost as much noise as he had when he'd barked. Josie grabbed his collar and dragged him to the center of the room, where she plopped cross-legged onto the floor and gave her dog a big hug. "Fionn missed you tonight," she whispered into his ear. At the sound of his friend's name, Pip licked Josie up the side of the face, and she had to bury her face in his shaggy neck to muffle her giggles. Then, giving Pip one last scratch behind the ears, she rose and began undressing for bed.

As she pulled off her boots, she heard the front door creak ever so slightly as another Cartwright slunk into the house; the heavy footfalls crossing the living room told her it was Hoss. But as she heard him make his way softly up the stairs, Josie marveled at how quiet the large man could be when he put his mind to it; Hoss typically moved with the self-confident stride of a man who had little to fear from those around him, but he could be an absolute church mouse when he wanted to be.

Five minutes after Hoss's bedroom door closed behind him, Josie heard Little Joe's quick, light steps flit upstairs and down the hall. Finally, the front door clicked shut behind Adam, who glanced around to make sure they hadn't left behind any evidence of having been out so late – a single hat or gun belt out of place would attract Ben's attention the next morning. Satisfied that everything was where it should be, Adam crept upstairs and stepped over the creaky floorboard and into his bedroom. As the door latched shut behind him, he heaved a sigh and ran a hand through his hair.

"I can't believe we actually got away with that," he muttered.

None of the Cartwright siblings got to sleep before three a.m., and, remembering that they had supposedly gone to bed nice and early, they all had to bite back groans of protest when Ben roused them only two hours later. They stumbled blearily into the hallway and collided as all four of them tried to enter the washroom at the same time. Despite her sleepiness, Josie managed to make a convincing argument for "ladies first." Knowing he was the low man on the totem pole, Little Joe opted not to wait and trudged downstairs and out the front door to use the outhouse behind the bunkhouse. Hoss and Adam slid down the wall and sat on the hallway floor with their legs stretched out to wait their turns. Ben found them thus ten minutes later when he came upstairs to get a fresh handkerchief out of his bureau.

"Boys!" he barked, towering over them. "What are you doing, sitting around up here?! Church is at eight, and we will NOT be late!"

Adam and Hoss blinked up at their father through heavy eyelids.

"We're waitin' for the, the… that thing," Hoss mumbled, waving a hand vaguely in the direction of the washroom door.

Ben narrowed his eyes suspiciously at his middle son before stepping over Adam's legs and rapping sharply on the washroom door. "Josephine!" he called. "If you make the rest of us late, you and I are going to have _words_ , young lady!"

There was some rustling behind the door, which popped open and fired out a dressing-gown-clad figure who tore off down the hallway, a sheet of black hair flying behind her. Hoss leapt to his feet, dived into the washroom, and slammed the door behind him before Adam had time to react. Adam thumped the floor in frustration and glanced up to see his father still staring down at him. He gave Ben a little smile and hoped the hallway was too dim for Ben to see the dark circles under his eyes.

Adam jabbed a thumb toward the washroom door. "Shoulda built two," he said with a giggle that almost got away from him and became hysterical.

Ben pointed a finger down at Adam. "Don't make us late," he ordered. Then he turned on his heel and stormed down the hall and back downstairs.

By the time Adam had gotten a turn in the washroom and made it downstairs, Hoss, Little Joe, and Josie were finishing up breakfast, which had included at least three cups of coffee apiece. It was nearly six a.m., and just as Adam sat down at the table to wolf down a couple pancakes, Ben stood up and announced that it was time to leave. Adam snatched a few pancakes off of the serving dish in the center of the table and rolled them up to eat on the way, but he could only stare sadly at the large, silver pot of coffee that he had to leave behind. Cramming a piece of bacon into his mouth, Adam headed for the front door behind the rest of the family.

A couple ranch hands had tacked up Sport, Chubb, and Cochise, who waited patiently at the hitching post. But when Adam, Hoss, and Little Joe saw the surrey waiting for Josie and Ben – and with enough space in the backseat for two more people – they stared wide-eyed at one another for a split second before racing for the surrey, knowing that the fastest two of them would get a soft, cushioned, two-hour nap on the way town. Adam and Little Joe were the quickest, diving in a split second before Hoss could. The big man thumped the wagon wheel, and Adam gamely handed him a rolled-up pancake in consolation. Hoss snatched it from him and stuffed it in his mouth as he lumbered over to Chubb, his shoulders hunched. He wasn't still hungry – _he'd_ had plenty of time to eat breakfast – but his eating the pancake meant that Adam couldn't have it, and Hoss hoped Adam's stomach would start rumbling in the middle of the church service.

Ben turned around in the driver's seat to look at Adam and Joe – it was unusual for them to prefer rolling along in a buggy to riding their horses, and he wrinkled his brow at them. They were both pale, and Adam had such dark circles under his eyes that he looked bruised. "You two all right?" he asked.

"Oh, yeah, Pa," Joe replied. "Just seems like a nice morning for a buggy ride." He leaned back in his seat and tilted his face toward the sun to illustrate his point.

"Yeah, Pa," Adam agreed. "No sense wearing out Sport and Cochise when there are two perfectly good seats back here."

Ben gave his sons one last hard look and then turned back around and slapped the horses with the reins. Within ten minutes, Little Joe and Adam had slumped against one another and fallen fast asleep, Adam's forgotten pancakes rolling out of his limp hand and onto the ground, where Pip snatched them up. Trundling along behind the surrey, Hoss tried to sleep in his saddle, but every time he was about to drift off, Chubb would toss his head, jerking Hoss's arms and waking him up. Annoyed with both his horse and his brothers, Hoss broke a bunch of twigs off a tree as he passed by and spent the next ten minutes throwing them at Adam and Little Joe so they couldn't nap, either.

When the first twig bounced off his cheek, Little Joe snapped awake, waking Adam, too, as Joe's whole body jerked in surprise. Adam wiped a drop of drool from his chin and glared first at Joe, and then at Hoss as a well-aimed twig caught him in the back of the head.

"We'll get you!" Little Joe mouthed silently to Hoss, who grinned smugly in reply. Joe faced forward once more, and he and Adam scowled the rest of the way to Virginia City.

Josie, meanwhile, was feeling the effects of the three cups of coffee she had consumed with breakfast – she typically drank only one – and was experiencing the unique sensation of being heavy with weariness but simultaneously bouncing with caffeine-induced jitters. Everything tingled, especially her fingertips, and Josie imagined she could shoot lightning bolts from her hands like Zeus. Josie giggled as she thought that perhaps she should have named Pip "Argus" instead. Ben glanced over to see what was so funny, and Josie bit her lip and gave him her most innocent expression. She was fighting hard not to let her fatigue be obvious; after she had gotten them all in trouble comparing Ben to Aunt Rachel, Josie didn't want to be the one who let slip what they'd been up to the previous night. She decided it was better to keep quiet and spent the rest of the trip into town mentally reciting all the bones in the human body, starting with the skull and working her way down.

When they reached Virginia City, Josie ordered Pip to wait outside, and the four younger Cartwrights stumbled into the church behind Ben. Adam would later have no memory of greeting the Marquettes, and Hoss had to grab Josie's arm and direct her into a pew before she kept going straight up the center aisle to the altar. There were too many of them to fit into a single pew, so Adam, Josie, and Hoss, now accompanied by Patience, filed into a pew behind Ben and Little Joe. Patience looked a little sleepy from the late night, too, but since she lived in town, she had gotten two hours' more sleep than the Cartwrights had, and as her father began the service, she realized it was on her to ensure that at least Hoss stayed awake. Sure enough, once the hymns were over and everyone had to sit quietly, four heads began to nod. Patience was most alarmed by the idea of Hoss falling asleep. The big man sat between her and Josie, and if he slumped over, either Patience would get bumped off the end of the pew and onto the floor of the center aisle, or Josie would get flattened. Patience prodded Hoss in the ribs, but he just shifted on the pew without opening his eyes. Fearful that he would let out a revealing snore at any moment, Patience whispered, "I'm so sorry, my love," and ground the heel of her shoe into the toes of his left foot. Hoss's eyes flew open, and he gasped in pain, causing several parishioners, Ben included, to turn around and glare at him. "Wasp," he whispered to Ben. The older man merely raised an eyebrow and turned his attention back to Reverend Lovejoy.

Josie's eyes had fluttered open just in time for her to see Patience attempt to impale Hoss through his boot, and she snickered quietly as he tried to deflect the congregation's attention from him. Hoss shot her a disdainful glare, and when Josie's head began to droop again less than five minutes later, he took great pleasure in jabbing his index finger into her ribcage. Josie popped up in her seat with a sharp "Eep!" The parishioners turned around again, and Josie snatched her handkerchief from her pocket, covered her mouth and nose, and let out a "Choo!" Ben's eyebrow rose again, and he shook his head as he turned back to Reverend Lovejoy once more.

This time Adam snickered. Josie's false sneeze may have fooled the rest of the congregation, but Adam recognized Josie's ticklish squeak when he heard it. Josie turned to her right and glared at him, and Adam leaned over and gave her a swift peck on the forehead, which only annoyed her further. So when Adam began fighting sleep a few moments later, Josie felt no remorse as she reached over, grasped a dozen or so of the fine hairs on his wrist, and yanked. Adam bit his lower lip until he tasted blood and tears leaked from the corners of his scrunched eyes. Josie smirked and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. Adam knew he had gotten just what he'd deserved, so he said nothing and took Josie's hand in his so that for the rest of the service any time either of them started to drop off, the other could give a gentle squeeze rather than inventing new ways to inflict pain. Adam couldn't resist, however, when he saw Little Joe's curly head start to sway directly in front of him. With a wicked grin at Josie, Adam reached forward and gave Joe's right ear a hard flick. Joe nearly leapt out of the pew as his hand flew to his ear and he shouted "Hey!" so loudly that Reverend Lovejoy fell silent midsentence, and all eyes turned to the Cartwrights again.

"Joseph!" Ben snapped softly. "Do I need to take you outside?!"

"No, Pa," Joe muttered, ducking his head. He gave the congregation a pathetic little wave and sank down as far as he could in his seat. Reverend Lovejoy cleared his throat and continued with his sermon, all the while keeping one wary eye on Little Joe Cartwright. Patience, Hoss, Josie, and Adam couldn't look at each other again for the rest of the service for fear that they would burst out in loud laughter.

When the service finally, mercifully ended, the congregation filed out, greeting Reverend Lovejoy as they passed through the door. Joe tried to slip past, but the reverend caught him by the arm and pulled him in close so Ben couldn't overhear. "Stay out too late last night, son?" His face was stern, but he couldn't stop his blue eyes from twinkling. He knew how late Patience had gotten home from the Marquettes' and deduced that the Cartwrights must have gotten in even later.

Joe turned beet red but played dumb. "Dunno what you're talkin' about, Reverend."

"Don't worry, Joe. Your secret's safe with me." The reverend grinned at Joe and released his arm, and Joe sped off to catch up to his siblings who were already outside.

The new schoolhouse stood just beside the church, so it was a short walk to the dedication. Everyone agreed that it was a beautiful building – much nicer than the one the earthquake had destroyed. It was a simple, yet sturdy, frame building along the same lines as Josie's clinic, but Adam had designed a small bell tower that perched on top. There was no bell yet – the town needed to raise the funds for one – but everyone was excited by the prospect of hearing a schoolhouse bell calling the children to classes in the mornings. Josie took umbrage when she heard someone muttering about the schoolhouse being unnecessarily large, but before she could cut in, someone else explained that Adam had planned ahead – everyone expected Virginia City to keep growing, which meant more children would be attending the school.

Reverend Lovejoy gathered everyone in front of the schoolhouse and dragged Adam and Amos Crawford, who had been the construction foreman, onto the little porch with him. After a short speech in which he thanked Adam, Amos, and the rest of the townspeople who had donated time and supplies for constructing the school, he said a quick prayer to bless the building and the children and teachers who would be using it, and then invited everyone to take a peek inside and then break out their picnic lunches on the schoolyard.

"Lunch?!" Josie exclaimed, clutching at Pip for support. "I thought we'd be going home after the dedication!" Little Joe and Hoss echoed her sentiments, and even Adam, who had missed breakfast, was dismayed by the prospect of a picnic. All any of them wanted to do was go home and collapse on their beds. Adam felt like he might fall over at any moment, and his brothers and Josie looked like they felt the same.

"You want to ride two hours home with your bellies growling, be my guest," Ben replied. "But I'm having lunch." He sauntered over to the surrey and extracted a picnic basket from under the front seat that none of them had noticed on the ride into town. Adam groaned but toddled over to the surrey to take the Cartwrights' picnic blanket from his father, and then he and Josie spread it on the ground and toppled onto it. Josie sat down and stretched out her legs, and Adam sprawled out on his back perpendicular to her, using her left thigh as a pillow. Joe's face lit up as he realized his oldest brother had hit on a good idea, and he lay down on Josie's other side, resting his head on her right leg. Josie dropped her head and stared down at them.

"If you two think I'm hand-feeding you, you've got another think coming," she said. She grabbed a red-and-white checkered napkin out of the picnic basket, unfolded it, and laid it in her lap overtop her cousins' faces. Joe and Adam let out weary chuckles and sat up. Ben watched as the four cousins sat hunched over, gnawing unenthusiastically on their fried chicken, and he decided he'd let this go on long enough.

"So how was the dance last night?" he asked, his eyes never leaving the coleslaw he was spooning onto his plate.

"Oh, it was great, Pa!" Hoss blurted. "You shoulda seen how pretty Patience looked, all dolled up, and – uh oh." Two sets of hazel eyes and one set of green shot daggers at him.

"Really, Hoss?!" Joe exclaimed, dropping his head into his hands. Josie just groaned and plunked her head onto Adam's shoulder.

Much to everyone's surprise, Ben broke out in boisterous laughter. "You didn't really think you'd gotten away with that, did you?! That was a good try, though, leaving the house one at a time. I thought Josie's escape through her window was particularly brilliant."

The four cousins' mouths dropped open, and Joe dropped his chicken wing, which Pip snatched up. The wolfhound was enjoying his family's fatigue: they got careless with their food when they were this tired. Josie caught her uncle's eye and saw a devilish glint, and realization crashed down on her like an avalanche.

"You left your door open on purpose just to see what I'd do!"

Ben laughed again. "Guilty as charged. And I must say, I was mightily impressed by your resourcefulness."

Adam stared at his father with a mixture of admiration and annoyance. "You knew all along, and you just let us struggle to act normally."

"I'd apologize, but I'm not sorry," Ben quipped with a cheeky grin. "Now how about we pack up and go home? Let you all get some rest."

The cousins were only too happy to comply, and within minutes, the Cartwrights had bundled up the remains of their lunch and bid farewell to their friends. As they headed toward the surrey, Hoss, determined not to miss out on a buggy ride this time, used the last of his energy to bolt for the wagon and vault into the back seat. Ben cringed as the surrey's springs compressed almost all the way under the force of his outsized son's landing. Adam and Joe took off sprinting, both of them determined to get the last spot in the wagon. Halfway there, Adam stuck out a foot and tripped Joe, who crashed into the dirt with a loud curse. Laughing, Adam sprang into the surrey and settled himself next to Hoss. Frowning at Adam, Ben extended a hand and helped Little Joe to his feet and brushed him off. Joe shook his father off and stalked over to the surrey, where he pushed himself right into Adam's face. He was about to grab Adam's shirt and yank him from the wagon when Josie hustled over and stepped between Joe and Adam.

"Hoss, get in the front seat," she ordered.

"What about you?"

"Front. Seat."

Hoss obediently hopped out of the back seat and climbed up into the front next to Ben. Josie clambered into the back next to Adam and pressed up against him as tightly as she could. She pointed to the narrow space left on the back seat.

"Joseph!" she barked, sounding remarkably like a higher-pitched version of Ben.

Joe squeezed into the small space, stretching his arm along the top of the seat. Ben looked back and chuckled at the sight of the three cousins squashed together.

"Josephine, once again, you have been confronted with a conundrum and responded admirably," he said.

Josie beamed, and Ben turned to Hoss. "You, on the other hand, seem to have forgotten something important."

Hoss wrinkled his brow. "Whatdya mean, Pa? I said goodbye to Patience."

A whinny from behind them made Hoss's eyes pop wide.

"Chubby!" he cried, springing from the wagon and scurrying over to his beloved black gelding who was still tied to one of the hitching rails in front of the church. Hoss freed the horse and led him over to the surrey. He tied his reins to the back of the wagon and then reclaimed his seat in the front.

Satisfied that everyone was settled, Ben slapped the horses with the lines and with a loud "Giddup!" they rolled out of town.

By the time they arrived home, Adam, Little Joe, and Josie had been asleep in the back of the surrey for nearly two hours. Josie had rotated ninety degrees so she was leaning up against Adam with her legs stretched out across Joe's lap. Adam's head tilted over to rest on Josie's, while Joe's was thrown back on the top of the seat and swayed from side to side with the rocking of the wagon. In the front seat, Hoss had slumped over onto Ben's shoulder, which was now damp with drool. Ben pulled the horses to a stop and poked his elbow into Hoss's ribs to wake him up. Hoss awoke with a snort and dropped heavily to the ground. Ben turned around and slapped Adam's knee.

"All ashore that's going ashore, son."

Adam drew in a deep breath as his eyes blinked open. His left arm, which was draped around Josie's shoulders, had gone dead during the ride, and his left hand was cold despite the heat of the afternoon. He jiggled Josie's arm with his right hand instead as he dragged his leaden left arm off of her shoulders. Josie lifted her head from Adam's chest with a low "Murrrrrrmmmm…" and slid her legs off of Joe's lap. The motion woke Joe, too, and the three of them tumbled into the house. Ben chuckled and shook his head as he jumped down from the wagon and handed the lines off to a ranch hand to take the surrey back to the carriage house.

Ben made it inside just in time to watch Josie, followed by Adam, Joe, and Hoss in turn, trudge up the stairs. Only seconds later, he heard four bedroom doors creak open and then bump close, followed by the heavy thumps of three pairs of boots and the lighter plunk of a pair of high-topped leather shoes hitting the bedroom floors. Ben chuckled again as he guessed that the cousins wouldn't even bother changing out of their church clothes before pitching over on their beds and falling sound asleep.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

Ross and Delphine Marquette showed up at Josie's clinic bright and early the next morning. Josie gave Delphine a quick examination to confirm what she already knew and then called Ross into the exam room.

Ross rushed to his wife's side and clasped her hand. "Dell, are you ok?" Josie could see the fear in the slim man's eyes and laid a hand on his shoulder.

"She's just fine, Ross," she said. "They both are."

"They?" Ross's eyes went wide.

Delphine gave her husband a weak smile. "I'm pregnant again, Ross," she nearly whispered.

Josie's heart broke as she watched Ross's face crumble in sorrow when it should have been lighting up with joy.

"Oh, Dell," Ross croaked as he stroked her blond hair. "Dell, I'm so sorry. I should have been more careful, I-" He broke off as sobs threatened to overtake him.

Delphine choked up, too, so Josie spoke for her. "It's all right, Ross," she assured him. "I'm guessing Dell's about a month along, and so far, everything looks good."

"Everything always looks good until about the third month," Ross moaned, dropping his head.

"That may be true, but there's no use worrying ourselves into a frenzy," Josie pointed out. "It won't change anything, and right now, Delphine and the baby are healthy." She turned to Delphine and made sure she had her attention before continuing. "Dell, I want you to get as much rest as possible. I'm not ordering you to bed for the next nine months, but I don't want you doing any hard work. If something weighs more than a novel, you don't lift it. If it's over your head, you don't reach for it. And don't even _think_ about mounting up on a horse. I want you to walk a little bit every day, but if you want to go somewhere farther than a fifteen-minute walk, you go in a wagon, you understand?"

Delphine wiped a tear from her eye and nodded. "Josie?" Her voice was so quiet that Josie had to bend down to hear her. "Do you really think I can carry this baby?"

Josie sighed. "Aside from abdominal injuries, no one's sure what causes women to lose babies," she admitted. "But we do know that each miscarriage increases a woman's chances of miscarrying again. But you're healthy, and we're going to do everything we can for this baby, ok?"

Delphine nodded again, and Josie gave her hand a reassuring squeeze and then slipped from the room to give the Marquettes some privacy. When they emerged ten minutes later, they both thanked Josie, who promised to ride out the following week to check on Delphine again. "And I'll send Dr. Martin by while Adam and I are in Sacramento in a few weeks," she added. "He'll do in a pinch, won't he?"

Delphine gave Josie a genuine smile, and Josie whispered a little prayer as the Marquettes swept from the clinic and climbed into their wagon to head home.

While Josie tended to patients both in her clinic and Dr. Martin's, the Cartwright men spent the week erecting the framework for Hoss and Patience's house. Assisted by a half a dozen ranch hands, they had the framework up faster than Adam had expected, so he took Friday off to slip into town and enlist Molly's help with another project. He and Josie would be leaving for Sacramento in two weeks, and Adam needed to get one of Josie's fancy gowns shipped ahead to their hotel for her surprise birthday dinner. Having no idea what other bits Josie would need besides her gown – and too embarrassed to handle them himself in any event – Adam planned to sneak Molly into Josie's bedroom to gather up everything Josie would need.

Molly clapped her hands in delight when Adam told her his plan. "Are you sure she won't notice her gown missin', though?" she asked.

Adam chuckled. "Definitely not. If we took a pair of her jeans, we might have an issue, but I'm certain the gown won't be missed."

"What about Josie, though?"

"What about her?" Adam asked, wrinkling his brow.

"How do you plan to get rid of Josie so I can get into her room?"

Adam grinned. "Ah, yes. I was hoping I could borrow Fionn, too. Do you think he'd be willing to take her out on a picnic?"

"Oh, we may have to twist his arm a bit, but I think we could talk him into it." Molly winked at Adam and then stretched up on her toes to kiss him. Adam wrapped his arms around her and returned her kiss. Molly giggled when she caught him glancing toward the back room of her shop. "Not now, my love, I've got work to do, and you need to pull foot before Josie notices you're here." Josie was just down the street in Dr. Martin's clinic, and she often popped by Molly's shop to visit on afternoons when business was slow. Not to mention she seemed to have a sixth sense that could detect Adam's presence from a mile away.

Adam let go of Molly and readjusted his jeans. "You're right," he sighed. "See you tomorrow, then?"

"Tomorrow," Molly replied. "We'll arrive just before lunch. I love you." She kissed him one last time, her hand lingering on his cheek.

"I love you, too. Don't be late tomorrow. I'll be counting the minutes until then." He turned his face and kissed the palm of her hand before reluctantly slipping out the door.

Josie was thrilled that evening at supper to hear that Molly and Fionn would be by for lunch the next day. Fionn would be harvesting the first of his fall crops soon, so Josie was glad for the chance to spend some time with him before she and Adam left for Sacramento and Fionn's workload swelled. Adam and Ben shared a knowing glance as Josie's face lit up at the mention of Fionn's name, but they kept quiet.

"Oh, Uncle Ben!" Josie chirped. "Pony Blanket came to visit me today at the clinic!"

Ben furrowed his brow. "Pony Blanket?"

"Oh, that's right," Josie replied, waving her fork in the air. "You didn't meet him. He's one of Winnemucca's warriors. Nice young man."

"How did _you_ meet him?" Ben asked.

Josie's fork froze in midair. Answering the question directly would require her to tell her uncle about her and Joe's canoe wreck that summer – she had met Pony Blanket when Winnemucca and his men rescued them from the shores of Lake Tahoe. "Oh, you know," she said airily. "Here and there. Anyway, Chief Winnemucca sent him to ask me to come by their village in the next few days. Said he had a gift for me." Josie had been disappointed her friend the chief hadn't come to see her himself, but she understood that while the people of Virginia City tolerated the occasional brief visit by some of the lesser-feared Paiutes, they would never abide the chief himself strolling into town.

Ben raised an eyebrow; he was still amazed by how quickly and completely Josie had endeared herself to the local Indians. "Well, Josephine, we apparently have company tomorrow, but if you'd like, I could ride out there with you on Sunday."

"That would be great, Uncle Ben, thanks!" Josie didn't feel that she needed a chaperone to ride out to visit friends, but she knew that there were still a lot of unfair prejudices toward the Paiutes, and if anyone learned that Ben Cartwright had allowed his niece to ride alone into an Indian village, the whole town would show up on their porch with pitchforks and torches.

"Wonder what Chief Winnemucca has for you," Hoss mused as he spread a thick layer of butter over his dinner roll.

"I don't know." Josie shrugged her shoulders. "But Pony Blanket seemed pretty excited about it."

"Maybe it's a new canoe," Adam snickered. Josie and Little Joe both glared at him and kicked him under the table, each of them attacking one of Adam's shins. Fortunately, Ben didn't hear Adam's smart remark, so no one had to explain, and they all kept rather quiet for the rest of the meal.

The next morning, Adam, Josie, and Pip were waiting on the porch when Molly and Fionn rolled up in their wagon. The cousins leapt from their seats and raced over to the wagon, where Adam lifted Molly down from the seat and greeted her with an enthusiastic kiss. Fionn jumped down from the driver's seat and swung Josie around in a hug. She laughed as her feet lifted from the ground, and Pip barked happily.

"Hungry, Hey, You?" Fionn asked as he set Josie down on her feet.

"Always!" Josie replied with a grin. "Wait till you see the spread Hop Sing has laid out!"

"Well, I hope he remembered to pack some of it up," Fionn said, waving off a ranch hand who tried to unhitch the horses from his wagon. "Because you and I are goin' on a picnic."

"Oh we are, are we?" Josie raised an eyebrow at Fionn, who grinned and smirked at Adam over Josie's head. Josie didn't miss the exchange between her friend and her brother and turned to Adam. "Why do I get the impression you had something to do with this?"

"No idea," Adam replied as he bit back a smile. He laced an arm around Molly's waist and turned to lead her into the house.

"Are you trying to get rid of me?" Josie called after him.

Adam paused midstride and let go of Molly. He turned back around, strode over to Josie, and placed his hands on her shoulders. "Josie," he said softly. "After all those years we spent apart, why would I ever want to get rid of you?" He kissed her on the forehead and then returned to the porch and took Molly inside the house.

Fionn sidled up to Josie and took her hand. "Aw, now that was sweet, wasn't it?"

Josie's face, however, was scrunched up in suspicion. "Yes, it certainly was." She paused, her steely gaze boring a hole in the closed front door. "He's up to something."

"Of course he's up to something. He's a Cartwright. All of you are always up to something."

Josie turned her gaze to Fionn and studied him for a moment. "I'm not sure whether that's an insult or a compliment."

Fionn's brown eyes sparkled with that mischievous twinkle Josie loved. "Take it however you like, Hey, You, so long as you still go on that picnic with me." He tweaked her nose, which made Josie giggle, and then he offered her his arm and led her into the house to see about a picnic basket.

Hop Sing had already packed up several hearty roast beef sandwiches, coleslaw, apples, and cookies, along with a jug of lemonade for Josie and Fionn. They thanked Hop Sing profusely as Fionn took the basket from him and made to take it out to the wagon.

"Hey, You," he said, turning to Josie as they crossed through the living room toward the door. "Why don't you grab a book? I loved hearin' you read on the Fourth of July."

Josie's face brightened. "Of course! Do you mind if it isn't _David Copperfield_ , though? I'm getting a little tired of it."

Fionn laughed. "Whatever you like will be fine with me."

Josie grinned and darted up to her room, returning in short order with _Pride and Prejudice_. She snatched her hat from the peg next to the door and plopped it on her head. "All set?" she asked.

Fionn offered his arm once more in reply. Josie said a quick goodbye to her family and Molly, and then she slipped her arm into Fionn's, and the pair of them – and Pip, of course – glided from the house. As soon as they left, Adam and Molly rushed over to the window behind Ben's desk and watched Fionn help Josie into the wagon and drive the two of them away. Once the wagon disappeared behind the barn, Adam grabbed Molly's hand, and the two of them dashed upstairs to Josie's bedroom. Molly had never been on the second floor of the house, and as they made their way down the hall, she glanced at each bedroom door, wondering which one was Adam's. She nearly jumped out of her skin when her foot came down on the fussy floorboard outside Adam's room, sending up a loud squawk.

"Sorry, I've been meaning to replace that board," Adam said, glancing down at the offending plank. "Always have to sidestep it when everyone else is asleep." He hesitated for a moment, realizing he had the woman he loved mere paces from his bed. He glanced at his bedroom door and wondered how much time could pass before anyone downstairs grew suspicious. Molly must have thought the same thing, because she tightened her grip on Adam's arm, and in the dim light of the hallway, Adam could see the color rise in her cheeks. He grabbed the latch to his door.

"Adam!" Ben's voice called up the stairs. "Use my small trunk! I don't need it any time soon. It's under my bed."

Adam and Molly dropped their heads. "And just like that, the spell is broken," Adam chuckled.

Molly giggled. "Come on, No-Longer-Just-Adam, let's get Josie's dress squared away."

Adam led Molly the few remaining steps to Josie's bedroom and swung the door open. Molly smiled as she stepped inside and surveyed her friend's bedroom for the first time. She took in the bookcases that overflowed with novels, medical texts, and the bits and bobs of Josie's profession: spare bandages, a spool of catgut, and several bottles of liniments and medicines. Molly shuddered when she saw one labeled "Cod Liver Oil." Her mother had sworn by it as a remedy for everything from colds to sprained ankles, and the very memory of the nasty, fishy taste made Molly's nose crinkle in disgust. She soon forgot the cod liver oil, however, as she admired the map of Washington, D.C., that hung over Josie's bed, and the sketch of the White House that the young ranch hand, Jimmy, had made for Josie when she was ill in the spring.

As Molly passed by Josie's night table, she caught sight of Jacob's portrait. Adam saw her looking at it and handed it to her. "My Uncle Jacob, Josie's father," he explained. "He had this portrait done last Christmas. Josie's mother brought it when she visited."

Molly smiled at the portrait in her hand. "You can see a little resemblance, but he doesn't look a lot like your father, does he?"

"No," Adam agreed, taking the portrait back from Molly and replacing it on Josie's night table. "Though he hollered at me once or twice when I was in college, and I'll tell you, he sure can sound like Pa!" Molly giggled. "Oh, speaking of college…" Adam crossed the room to Josie's dressing table and plucked a small, silver-framed daguerreotype from its surface. He strode back over to Molly and placed the little picture in her hand.

Molly squealed when she recognized the two figures in the portrait. "Oh my goodness, how old were you?!"

"That was taken during Christmas vacation my first year in college, so I would have been seventeen. Josie was seven." Adam gazed over Molly's shoulder at the photo. Hannah had insisted he and Josie sit for a portrait to commemorate the cousins' first Christmas together, and though Adam had protested at the time – portraits were very expensive, and he didn't want his aunt and uncle laying out that kind of money on his behalf – Adam was now glad that he had capitulated. While Molly cooed over his seventeen-year-old-self's boyish face and longer, unruly hair, Adam smiled at the pigtailed little girl with the impish grin. He laughed as he remembered Hannah begging Josie to smile with her mouth closed so as not to reveal the big gap where she had just lost a front tooth, but Josie had grinned anyway, proud to show off how grown-up she was becoming.

Molly eventually turned her attention to the young version of Josie, too. "She hasn't changed much, has she?"

"Well, she's got both front teeth again," Adam pointed out. Molly laughed and handed him back the daguerreotype. "But, no, in all the important ways, she hasn't changed. I hope she never does." He set the portrait back on Josie's dressing table, being careful to replace it in the exact spot from which he had taken it. "All right," he said, pointing to Josie's wardrobe. "Everything should either be in there or in the chest of drawers over here. I think she looks stunning in the blue silk, but I'll leave it up to you. I'll go get Pa's trunk."

By the time Adam returned to Josie's room with Ben's small trunk only a few minutes later, Molly had already pulled the sapphire gown out of the wardrobe and was admiring the fabric and construction.

"This is beautiful!" she exclaimed, running a hand down the silk. "This is some of the nicest silk I've ever seen, and the dressmaker certainly knew what she was doing."

"I think Aunt Rachel had that made for Josie in Boston. I'm sure she used the finest dressmaker in the city, too," Adam said. He set the trunk on Josie's bed. "Maybe you could write down some instructions for me to include when I ship this to the hotel so they know how to get the wrinkles out of the dress before Josie and I get there."

"Aye," Molly replied, her eyes never leaving the gown.

Adam kissed her cheek. "I'll leave you to it, then," he said and slipped out of the room.

Molly needed only ten minutes to pack Josie's gown, dancing slippers, and undergarments, so before long, she and the Cartwrights were sitting down to feast on the lunch Hop Sing had prepared. As they ate, Molly made Hoss tell her all about how the new house was coming along. He blushed and stared down at his plate when Molly said that Patience was a lucky woman, but Ben didn't miss the coy smiles that passed between Molly and Adam when she said it. He thrilled at the possibility of another wedding, perhaps not long after Hoss's, but was then struck by an unexpected wave of loneliness, and his grand house suddenly felt very empty. He reached over and gave Little Joe's shoulder a squeeze. Joe looked up at him, trying to ascertain the reason for his father's unprompted attention and wondering if he was in trouble for something. But Ben just smiled warmly at his youngest son, so Joe grinned back and returned to his roast beef.

While the others were sitting around the table, Fionn and Josie rolled to a stop under a large oak tree on the banks of a burbling stream. Josie had hesitated to bring Fionn to this place where she and Simon had gone on their first buggy ride, but once she saw the lush, green meadow with its yellow, white, and purple wildflowers, and the soaring, snow-capped mountains in the background, she was glad she had directed Fionn here. This was still Josie's favorite spot on the Ponderosa, and she wanted to share it with her friend. As was his custom, Pip raced off in search of rabbits, squirrels, or whatever he could catch. Fionn laughed as he watched the giant dog gallop away.

"He sure lives life to its fullest, doesn't he?" he observed as he jumped down from the wagon. He walked around the back of the wagon and lifted Josie from her seat, setting her lightly on her feet. His hands lingered briefly on her waist before he turned to unhitch and hobble his horses so they could graze and drink.

"He sure does," Josie agreed. "He's the best gift anyone's ever given me." She smiled a fond smile that Fionn recognized well by now – it was the same one she always wore when she thought of Adam.

"Wouldn't mind gettin' me hands on a beast like him," Fionn mused. "I'd give him an Irish name, like Cú Chulainn."

Much to Fionn's surprise, Josie burst out laughing.

"What's so funny?!" he demanded.

Josie took a deep breath to quell her giggles so she could speak. "I'm sorry, Fionn. I wasn't laughing at you. It's just that Cú Chulainn was the first name I suggested for Pip, but it confused Hoss and Little Joe so badly that I had to think of something else."

Fionn joined Josie in renewed laughter. "Suppose it is a little difficult for Americans, isn't it?" he conceded. "Impressed you know our folklore, though, Hey, You. You never stop surprisin' me." He reached to fondle a tendril of dark hair that had come loose from Josie's braid and now hung against her cheek, but halfway there he snatched his hand back. "Well, um," he cleared his throat. "I don't know about you, but I'm starvin'!"

Fionn turned back to the wagon and grabbed an old patchwork quilt from the bed. Josie helped him spread it in the shade of the oak tree and then turned to get the picnic basket. Fionn reached for it, too, and they played a brief match of tug-of-war before Josie let go of the handle and allowed Fionn to carry the basket over to their blanket.

As Josie settled herself on the blanket, she reached under the hem of her skirt and unstrapped her Derringer, which she placed next to her, just off the edge of the quilt. Fionn shook his head at the weapon.

"You know, Molly's been downright terrifyin' ever since you gave her one of those."

Josie giggled. "That was the idea." She grinned at Fionn, who settled onto the quilt next to her and cracked open the picnic basket. The pair spent the next quarter of an hour chatting amiably as they ate their way through the basket's contents.

"So I have to ask," Josie began as she washed down a bite of her sandwich with a long swig of lemonade. "Why did Adam ask you to bring me out on a picnic rather than having lunch with everyone else?"

Fionn feigned innocence. "What makes you think this was Adam's idea?"

Josie raised an eyebrow at him. "I'm intuitive."

"It's such a nice day. Be a pity to spend it indoors," Fionn reasoned, and Josie didn't miss the fact that he had dodged her question. "Besides, what would you rather look at? Little Joe, or all of this?" He waved his hand to indicate the meadow, spring, and mountains.

Josie knew she would not get any more information out of Fionn. "Good point," she admitted, and she dug into the picnic basket once more to find the cookies Hop Sing had packed.

When they could stuff no more food into their stomachs, Josie leaned up against the oak tree and pulled _Pride and Prejudice_ from the basket.

"Have you read any Jane Austen?" she asked Fionn as he stretched out on his side and propped his head up on one hand.

Fionn laughed. "No. I told you: I'm not much for readin', but I'm startin' to think I should try takin' it up."

"You should. Now, this is Austen's most popular work, though I prefer _Northanger Abbey_."

"So why didn't you bring _Northanger Abbey_?" Fionn asked.

"Because unfortunately, my copy is sitting at the bottom of Lake Tahoe. It was in my bag that went overboard when Joe and I got caught up in that storm."

"That's a shame."

"It is," Josie agreed. "It pains me to see books get damaged." She opened _Pride and Prejudice_ to the first page and began to read. "'It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife…'"

Josie's voice began to give out after about an hour, so she packed up the picnic basket while Fionn hitched the horses back to the wagon. Fionn the whistled for Pip, who came bounding across the meadow toward them, a dead squirrel clamped in his jaws. He raced over to Fionn, dropped the squirrel and the young man's feet, and looked up at him, tail wagging and mouth open in a big doggie grin.

Fionn laid a hand over his heart. "For me?!" he asked the wolfhound. "Why, Pip, this is the nicest thing anyone's ever given me!"

"Geez," Josie said, wrinkling her nose at the little corpse. "Christmas at your house must be really depressing."

Fionn winked at her and snatched a napkin from the picnic basket. "Squirrels are good eatin', Hey, You. Fry up real nice." He wrapped the still-warm body in the napkin and laid it in the picnic basket. "That's lunch tomorrow, that is." He scratched Pip's head before putting the picnic basket and blanket back into the wagon bed and helping Josie up into the seat.

As they set off down the road toward home, Josie glanced back at the meadow, the stream, and the mountains, again glad that she had brought Fionn here. She'd avoided this part of the ranch since Simon had left, and it was nice to have a new, good memory of this, her favorite place on the Ponderosa. Before she knew what she was doing, she opened her mouth and began speaking.

"Thank you for the picnic, Fionn. This was the nicest afternoon I've had since… well, in a while." She gave his left arm a little squeeze and smiled at him.

Fionn smiled back, his nose crinkling. "Yeah, me, too," he replied. He put both lines in his right hand and wrapped his left arm around Josie's shoulders. She scooted closer to him and laid her on his shoulder, where it stayed for the entire ride back to the ranch house.

Everyone was sitting on the porch when Fionn and Josie rolled into the front yard. It was a pleasant day – the summer heat was finally beginning to break – and Molly and the Cartwrights were happy to take advantage of it. Adam, Hoss, Little Joe, and Molly waved to them and then returned to their conversation. Adam had been reading about the National Association of Base Ball Players, which had formed in New York only a few years earlier, and he'd been telling the others about the organization's expansion. Little Joe had been captivated by the whole concept and had wondered aloud if Virginia City could put together a ball club.

Hoss had been skeptical. "It's a silly game, Little Joe," he'd said. "I'm tellin' ya, twenty, thirty years from now, ain't no one gonna remember it ever existed."

Adam had earned Little Joe's eternal gratitude by jumping to his baby brother's defense. "I don't know about that, Hoss," he had said, holding up a hand to silence Little Joe's retort. "I saw a few baseball games when I was in college, and the whole town was pretty enthusiastic. Looked like fun to play, too. Besides, the association has nearly a hundred registered clubs, and they've only been around about six years."

Ben had been listening in off and on as he tried not to doze off in his rocking chair – he felt he was at least ten years too young to fall asleep in a rocking chair on his porch – but he snapped to full attention when he saw Josie's head on Fionn's shoulder as the friends pulled up to the house. He glanced over at Adam, surprised that his eldest was so unconcerned about the situation. Ben leapt to his feet and hustled over to the wagon, lifting Josie down from the seat before Fionn had a chance to.

"Did you have a nice time, my dear?" Ben asked, tucking a stray lock of hair back behind Josie's ear.

"Yes!" Josie replied, her eyes shining. "Though I'm a little hoarse from all that reading." She held up _Pride and Prejudice_ , and Ben could see her bookmark tucked a good fifty pages or so into the novel.

Ben turned to Fionn, who had come around the wagon to greet him. "And what do you think so far of the adventures of Mr. Brownlow and poor Nancy?" he asked the young man.

Fionn wrinkled his brow. "Mr. Brownlow and Nancy, sir? I'm sorry, but I don't remember them in the story. Josie was readin' about a Miss Elizabeth Bennet."

"Uncle Ben, you're mixing up _Pride and Prejudice_ with _Oliver Twist_ ," Josie said.

Ben slapped his forehead. "Oh, right! Silly me. Been a while since I've read anything by Miss Austen."

Adam had smirked when Ben had dashed over to the wagon and nearly yanked Josie from the seat before Fionn could touch her. Ben knew very well who the main character was in _Pride and Prejudice_ , and Adam knew he'd just been testing Fionn to see if he and Josie really had been reading the novel together or if they'd found something else to occupy their time. Adam had forgiven Fionn for the unwanted kiss he'd planted on Josie at the beginning of the summer, but it would seem that Ben had not, and Fionn O'Connell was going to have to work hard to regain the trust of the eldest Cartwright.

Just then, Jimmy, the Cartwrights' hand who was about Little Joe's age, came over to the wagon to unhitch the horses for Fionn.

"Oh, no, thank you," Fionn told him. "We can't stay. Got lots of work to do back home."

"Could you take the picnic basket in to Hop Sing, please, Jimmy?" Josie asked, gesturing to the bed of the wagon.

"Yes, Dr. Cartwright," Jimmy mumbled.

Josie knew instantly that something was wrong. Jimmy's inflection was off, and he was bent slightly over to his right side. And now that Josie got a good look at him, he looked pale in the warm sunshine. She stepped around Ben and strode over to Jimmy.

"Jimmy, are you all right?" she asked.

"Yes, ma'am, I'm fine." The dark-haired young man wouldn't meet Josie's gaze; he kept his eyes pointed straight at the picnic basket. Though it was nearly empty and no longer heavy, Jimmy sucked in a sharp breath when he lifted it.

"You're not fine," Josie declared, stepping toward him with her hand outstretched to feel his forehead.

Jimmy took a step back, away from Josie's hand. "I am, Dr. Cartwright, I really am. Just ate too much lunch and gave myself a bellyache."

"You did no such thing," a voice called out from the porch of the bunkhouse. Everyone turned to see Baxter, the Cartwrights' foreman, step down onto the ground and cross the yard to where Ben, Fionn, Josie, and Jimmy all stood around Fionn's wagon. Jimmy opened his mouth to refute the older man, but Baxter held up a hand to silence him. "He ain't ate nothin' since last night," Baxter addressed Josie. "And then only a couple mouthfuls of beans."

Josie turned back to Jimmy with one eyebrow raised. Ben stepped behind her and looked over her head at Jimmy, too. Jimmy quailed under his employer's gaze.

"I just ain't been hungry, Mr. Cartwright," he pleaded. "I'm all right, really. Just a little dyspepsia."

Ben glanced down at Josie, who looked unconvinced but was not going to embarrass the young man further by asking a bunch of personal questions in front of everyone.

"Take the picnic basket inside and then go lay down on your bunk," Josie ordered. "I'll bring you some salts in a little bit. That should settle your stomach."

"Yes, ma'am." Jimmy cast Josie a grateful smile. Still hunching over to his right, he skittered into the house with the picnic basket.

While Josie watched Jimmy make his lopsided dash into the house, Ben clapped a hand on Fionn's shoulder. "Oh, Fionn, before you go, come out to the barn with me for a minute. I've got a new horse I want to show you."

Fionn cast Josie a wary glance; Ben had always been polite to him, but never overly friendly like this. Josie was confused, too.

"You've got a new horse, Uncle Ben?" she asked.

"Yeah, that little bay mare."

"That ain't a new horse, Pa," Hoss said. "You've had her for months."

Ben cut a steely glare at his middle son. "She's still the newest one in the barn, isn't she?" His sharp tone made Hoss clap his jaw shut, and both Adam and Little Joe cast their gazes elsewhere, not wishing to get involved. "Besides," Ben continued. "I remember Fionn saying he'd like to learn a bit more about horses. Come on, son, let's go look at that mare." He tightened his clutch on Fionn's shoulder and steered the young man toward the barn. Fionn cast a last, desperate look over his shoulder at Josie as he stumbled alongside Ben, whose grip on his shoulder was growing painful.

Molly laid a hand on Adam's arm as her eyes swam with concern. "Is Fionn in trouble?" she asked.

Adam knit his brow as he watched Ben lead Fionn away. "I don't see why he would be," he replied. "Josie, is everything ok?"

Josie had just stridden onto the porch and taken Ben's vacated rocking chair. "I thought so. We just had our lunch and read a book. Don't know why Uncle Ben should be upset."

Little Joe leaned back in his chair, tipping his hat brim over his eyes and propping his feet up on the porch rail. "Just listen close," he said with a yawn. "If we hear screamin', we'll go rescue Fionn."

The others nodded and kept concerned gazes focused on the barn.

Inside the barn, Ben led Fionn to a stall toward the back where the bay mare stood calmly munching some hay. Fionn listened attentively while Ben explained how to check a horse's hooves, legs, and teeth for signs of good health. Fionn knew he had gotten lucky when he purchased his dapple mare – having grown up in Dublin, Ireland, and San Francisco, he'd never needed to know much about horses – and he appreciated the lesson, but the fluttering in his stomach told him that Ben Cartwright had more in mind than just horse talk. When Ben launched into a dissertation on the dangers of colic in horses, Fionn couldn't take the suspense any longer.

"Excuse me, Mr. Cartwright," he said in his politest tone. "I do appreciate all this, but why'd you really bring me out here?"

Ben turned away from the horse and gazed at Fionn full-on. He was a good two or three inches taller than the younger man and easily had thirty pounds on him, but Fionn neither shrank back nor set himself up in a challenging posture. He simply met Ben's eyes and waited patiently for him to reply, and Ben found himself a bit disarmed by the Irishman's quiet respectfulness.

Ben heaved a sigh and quit beating around the bush. "Fionn, I need to know what your intentions are towards my niece. Between Simon leaving and the news out of Gettysburg, Josie's been to hell and back this summer, and I'll not have anyone else upsetting her." Ben didn't say as much, but something in the air told Fionn that while Josie and Adam didn't blame him for the fiasco that led to Simon and Josie's breakup, Ben hadn't entirely absolved him of guilt. He scuffed a toe through the dirt floor while he formulated a reply.

"Please don't misjudge my intentions, Mr. Cartwright," he said at last and then almost chuckled as he caught himself using the phrase he used so often with Josie. He managed to keep a straight face, however, and continued. "Josie's the first true friend I've had since I left Ireland about eight years ago. I promise you, I wouldn't ever do anythin' to hurt her. Not again, anyway." He scrubbed one dusty sleeve across his eyes.

Ben's countenance softened as he saw the regret in Fionn's watery eyes. "Son?" he asked much more gently. He laid his hand on Fionn's shoulder and caught his eye again. "Do you love her?"

"Course I do, Mr. Cartwright. Like I said, she's the first true friend I've had since I was fifteen."

Ben smiled. "That's not quite what I meant, Fionn. Do you _love_ her?"

Fionn blushed and dropped his gaze to floor, where his toe was still tracing lazy circles in the dirt. He nearly whispered his reply. "Since the minute I first saw her." He swallowed hard and looked back up at Ben. "But that's a secret I intend to take to me grave. I know Josie's had a hard summer, and despite what she says, I know that was partly my fault, and I can't ever apologize enough for it. I'll not do anythin' else to cause her pain."

It struck Ben just how much responsibility Fionn had been forced to shoulder at a young age. Only twenty-three years old, Fionn had been looking out for himself and his sister for over a year, and he had moved them from a city to the frontier where their futures were not guaranteed. An image of himself departing Boston for the West with only his infant son for company shot through Ben's mind, and he gave Fionn's shoulder a bracing little squeeze. "Well, I certainly hope it doesn't have to go all the way to your grave. But I do appreciate you being willing to give Josie a lot of time. If she feels the same way about you, she'll make the first move, when she's ready."

"Aye. Thank you, sir."

Ben grinned at Fionn and put his arm around the young man's shoulders. "All right, son, let's get you back to your wagon so you can get back to work. And if you ever need any help over there on that farm of yours, you let us know, ok? I'm sure Adam would be more than happy to come by and lend a hand."

The two men chuckled as they made their way back toward the barn door, Ben's arm still draped around Fionn's shoulders. As they exited the barn, they heard an unholy screech emanating from the house. Sharing an alarmed look, Ben and Fionn took off sprinting across the front yard. They reached the porch just as Hop Sing shot out of the house.

"Dead squirrel!" the cook hollered, holding up the now rigid little body of Pip's gift to Fionn. "Dead squirrel in picnic basket! Hop Sing reach in to get napkins, and pull out dead squirrel!" He shook the corpse in Josie's face. "Why you play trick on Hop Sing?!" Hop Sing's angry red face grew even redder as Josie burst out laughing. "Not funny!" Hop Sing shouted.

Fionn arrived on the porch just then several steps ahead of Ben and sidled up to Josie. Pip, who had been laying placidly in the sunshine, leapt to his feet and started snapping his jaws at the dead squirrel, trying to snatch it out of Hop Sing's hand.

"I'm so sorry, Hop Sing!" Fionn apologized. "Pip gave me that, and I forgot I put it in the basket."

Adam, Molly, Hoss, Little Joe, and Ben all started laughing now, too.

"Aw, Pip, how thoughtful!" Hoss said, scratching the wolfhound's head.

"Lord Almighty, Hop Sing, you gave us a start!" Ben chimed in.

"So solly, Mr. Cartlight, so solly. But boys should not leave dead animals in picnic basket!" Hop Sing flung the squirrel at Fionn and stormed back into the house.

Ben's dark eyes danced with amusement as he turned to Fionn. "A gift from Pip, eh?"

Fionn grinned, relieved that Ben wasn't angry with him so soon after accepting him back into his good graces. "Aye. He was so proud to give it to me, it seemed rude to refuse. I really did forget I'd put it in the basket, though, Mr. Cartwright. Honest."

Ben laughed at Fionn's contrite expression, but Molly wrinkled up her nose. "You are NOT takin' that thing home with us, Fionn O'Connell," she declared.

Fionn opened his mouth to argue and then decided against it. Molly was wearing a fierce expression their mother used to make that let the recipient know further debate was not in his or her best interests. Fionn tossed the squirrel to Pip, who caught it and trotted off behind the barn.

"All right," he sighed, reaching for Molly's arm. "We really should get goin'."

Molly agreed, and the O'Connells bid farewell to the Cartwrights, Molly giving Adam a lingering kiss goodbye right in front of everyone. But at long last, Fionn and Molly were settled in their wagon, and with a final wave to the Cartwrights, they drove off.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

After bidding farewell to the O'Connells, the Cartwrights were turning to head into the house when Baxter burst out the door of the bunkhouse and pelted over to Josie.

"Dr. Cartwright! Dr. Cartwright!" he cried, his eyes wild. "Come quick! Something's wrong with Jimmy!"

Without a second's hesitation, Josie shot over to the bunkhouse, yelling for Hoss to get her medical bag out of her bedroom. The big man darted into the house and up the stairs, his thundering footsteps audible from the porch.

Ben, Adam, and Little Joe were hot on Josie's heels and arrived at Jimmy's bedside only seconds behind her. Ben barked at the ranch hands crowded around Jimmy's bed to back away and give Josie space to work. His breath caught as he gazed down at his young employee. Jimmy was curled up in the fetal position on his bunk, clutching his stomach and rocking back and forth in pain. He cried out and struggled as Josie tried to roll him onto his back so she could examine him, and Ben and Adam had to grab the young man's arms and legs to straighten him out and hold him still.

Tears of pain flowed down Jimmy's cheeks as Josie laid her hand on his forehead. He was running a fever, but it didn't seem to be too high. Little Joe scampered off for a bowl of cool water and some washcloths, while Ben, Adam, and Baxter looked anxiously at Josie, who was focused solely on her patient and paid them no mind.

"Jimmy," she said softly, hoping to soothe him. "I'm going to press on your stomach a little bit, and I need you to tell me where it hurts the most."

Jimmy nodded, his teeth gritted against the pain, as Josie unbuttoned his shirt. Once glance at his swollen abdomen told Josie just about everything she needed to know even before she laid her fingertips on his stomach. She pressed lightly to the left of his navel, and Jimmy sucked in his breath.

"I think that hurts him, Josie," Adam said, mopping Jimmy's head with one of the damp washcloths Little Joe had just arrived with.

"Not as much as I'm afraid this might," she muttered as she moved her fingers to the lower right side of Jimmy's abdomen and applied a small amount of pressure. Jimmy screamed and shot upright, knocking Adam backward and onto the floor. He clutched his stomach and hunched over, fresh tears coursing down his face. Josie reached out a hand and stroked his hair. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "I'm sorry, but I had to know."

Ben gripped her arm. "What is it?" he asked.

Josie answered without turning away from Jimmy. "It's appendicitis. Jimmy, I have to remove your appendix before it bursts."

Hoss had arrived with Josie's medical bag just in time to hear her diagnosis and watch Jimmy's pale face blanch even whiter.

"Remove it?" Jimmy echoed weakly. "What is it anyway?"

"It's a little tube off your large intestine," Josie explained. "No one's even sure what it does, but we do know you can live without it. Sometimes it gets inflamed, like yours has, and it has to be removed before it bursts and spreads an infection all through your body."

"You mean you're gonna cut me open?"

Josie rolled her eyes. Why did everyone out West always say that when she mentioned surgery? For the first time, Josie actually missed the people of Boston – they may have silly concerns, such as fashion and tea times, but at least they understood the concept of surgery.

"That's the basic idea, yes," she replied.

"Am I gonna be ok?"

Josie's eyes softened again, and she silently chastised herself for being annoyed, however briefly, with the young man whose naiveté was not his fault. Josie gripped his hand in both of hers and caught his gaze. "I'm going to do everything I can to make that happen." Jimmy nodded, and Josie turned to her family and Baxter. "We need to get him to my clinic."

"You got it, Josie," Hoss answered, and he swept Jimmy up in his arms and carried him from the bunkhouse. Jimmy gasped in pain and nearly fainted as the motion jostled his body, and Josie hoped that she wouldn't be too late. As she turned to follow Hoss, Ben gripped her arm again.

"Josie, will he be all right?"

Josie sighed. "Surgery is always risky, Uncle Ben, you know that. And I have to hope his appendix hasn't already burst, because if it has…" She couldn't bring herself to finish the sentence. Jimmy was a favorite of all the Cartwrights, and Josie had been especially fond of him ever since he had given her the sketch of the White House when she was ill. She had even tried talking him into going to an art school she knew of in St. Louis, but Jimmy had been reluctant to leave the Ponderosa.

"I know you'll do everything you can for him," Ben said. He looked over Josie's shoulder. "Adam, Baxter, find out if Jimmy has any family. Just in case."

"Thank you, Uncle Ben," Josie said, and she dashed out of the bunkhouse and down to her clinic.

Hoss was already laying Jimmy on an examination table when Josie arrived, and as soon as Jimmy was settled, Hoss started gathering Josie's surgical supplies without being asked. Josie pulled an apron on over her clothes and stepped to Jimmy's side. She gave him a brief, simple rundown of what she was going to do: put him to sleep with some chloroform and then make an incision in his abdomen, remove his appendix, and stitch him back up. Jimmy lay quietly during the explanation, his eyes fixed on Josie's, but as soon as she finished, his eyes welled up with tears again.

"Josie, I wanna go to art school," he said, his voice trembling. "I was stupid not to go."

Josie laid her hand on his fevered forehead and stroked his brow with her thumb. "You'll go next year. Now just breathe normally."

Hoss had stepped to the head of the bed with a chloroform-soaked rag, and at a nod from Josie, he pressed it gently over Jimmy's nose and mouth. Jimmy stared fearfully up at Josie for a few moments before his eyelids drooped, and he fell asleep.

Hoss handed Josie a bottle of iodine, but Josie stepped to the foot of the table and pulled off Jimmy's boots. Then, without a glance up at her cousin, she unbuttoned and pulled off Jimmy's jeans and drawers. She grabbed a sheet from a shelf behind her and draped it low over Jimmy's waist.

She looked up at Hoss a little red-faced, not because of what she'd just done – she'd had to undress male patients before – but because Hoss had watched her do it. "Waistband was in the way," she said a bit sheepishly as she took the iodine from his still outstretched hand. "And I'd hate to ruin a perfectly good pair of jeans."

Hoss shrugged his shoulders. "Don't have to explain to me." He glanced toward the door of the exam room as heavy footfalls made their way into the clinic's front room, and Hoss and Josie knew that Ben, Adam, Little Joe, Baxter, and probably a half a dozen other ranch hands would be keeping a quiet vigil during the surgery.

Josie wiped down Jimmy's abdomen with the iodine and then picked up a scalpel. Taking a deep breath, she pressed the blade to his skin and began to cut.

Out in the front room, everyone but Ben and Baxter sat on the floor – most patients came to Josie's clinic alone or with only one companion, so there were only two chairs. Adam made a mental note to order a small bench, though he realized he would have to find a new furniture-maker; Simon had built all the other furniture in the clinic.

"Pa," Adam said, looking up at his father. "Danny here says Jimmy's got an uncle in Placerville."

Ben glanced over at Danny Morgan, a tall, thin ranch hand who hadn't been on the Ponderosa very long but had already befriended all the other hands and the Cartwrights as well. Like Adam, Danny was a gifted guitarist and singer, and the two men could often be heard on the bunkhouse porch in the evenings trying to outplay one another.

"That's right, Mr. Cartwright," Danny said. "Got himself an uncle, name of Fred Lyons, I do believe. Jimmy goes to visit him on his time off."

"That's good to know. Thank you, Danny," Ben replied. "Hopefully we won't have to contact him."

"Don't you worry, Mr. Cartwright," Danny assured him. "If anyone can pull Jimmy through, it's your niece."

Ben gave Danny a grateful smile, which faded as the other hands in the room were a little too quick to agree with Danny and sing Josie's praises. Ben raised an eyebrow. "I don't need to keep a closer eye on my niece, do I?" he asked, staring sternly at each hired man in turn.

All of the ranch hands dropped their gazes to their laps and muttered a chorus of "No, sir." Everyone fell silent after that, too worried about their friend in the next room to manage a conversation.

Forty-five minutes later, Josie finished stitching Jimmy's incision closed, and she wiped a bead of sweat from her brow with the only bit of her forearm that wasn't covered in blood. Jimmy had lost a good amount of blood during the procedure, but his breathing and heart rate had stayed steady, so Josie wasn't too worried about it. She bandaged the incision site, and then, wiping her hands on her apron, she filled a syringe with morphine and injected it into Jimmy's arm. Finally, she took a blanket down from the shelf where she had grabbed the sheet, and she tucked it around Jimmy to keep him warm. Despite the warm afternoon, Josie knew he might feel a chill as he came out of the chloroform, and she didn't want him shivering.

"Ok, Hoss," she sighed. "Let him wake up."

As Hoss removed the chloroform rag from Jimmy's face, Josie scrubbed her hands in the wash basin in the corner. The water turned a bright red, reminding Josie of Moses and the River Nile. After drying her hands on a clean towel, Josie flung the dirty water out the open window. A little groan from behind her let her know her patient was regaining consciousness, and she rushed back to his side and placed her hand on his forehead, right where it had been when Jimmy had fallen asleep. Jimmy groaned again as his eyelids fluttered and his hands groped for his stomach. Hoss grabbed his hands to keep him from dislodging his bandage, and Jimmy didn't fight back; he was too groggy from the chloroform and morphine. Finally, his pale blue eyes opened fully, and he gazed up at Josie.

"Tell me before you put me out, ok?" he whispered.

Josie smiled over at Hoss and took hold of Jimmy's hand. "It's already over," she whispered back. "You did great." Jimmy tried to sit up in surprise, but he winced as his midsection shifted, and Josie gently pressed him back down onto the table. "Try not to move around too much," she instructed. "That incision will take a while to heal."

"Oooooookaaaaaaay," Jimmy said with a little giggle, and Josie and Hoss knew the morphine was kicking in. He gazed up at Josie with glassy eyes. "Do people always feel this funny after surgery?"

"They do when Josie shoots 'em full of morphine," Hoss answered.

"Ooooh." Jimmy smacked his lips twice. "I like morphine."

"Most people do," Josie giggled. "You just rest now." She ran her fingers lightly down his face to make him close his eyes. Once he lay still, she turned to Hoss. "Guess I better let everyone know how he's doing."

As soon as Josie stepped into the crowded front room, all ten men leapt to their feet, knocking into each other's knees and elbows in the process. Several of the hired men gasped when they saw Josie's blood-spattered apron, but the Cartwrights were used to it by now.

"How is he?" Ben asked, striding over to Josie.

"He came through the surgery just fine," she said to loud sighs of relief. "He lost a lot of blood, but I don't think it will be a problem as long as he doesn't develop an infection. He's resting comfortably now."

"Can I see him?" Baxter asked.

Josie glanced over at the foreman and saw the concern swimming in his eyes. Baxter had never had a family of his own, and he had always taken the younger hands under his wing, acting as a sort of surrogate father to them.

"You can," Josie answered, "though he's sleeping. I pumped him full of morphine to keep the pain at bay."

Little Joe nodded his head approvingly. "That morphine is good stuff," he said.

Baxter nodded and darted into the exam room, and Josie turned to Ben. "I don't want to move him for a few days. Once I'm sure he won't develop an infection, we can send him back to the bunkhouse, but I'm going to put a bag together for myself so I can stay out here with him."

Ben nodded. "All right everyone," he said to men in the little room. "Excitement's over. Let's clear out of here so Jimmy can rest."

A few of the hands glanced sadly at the closed door to the exam room – they had wanted to see Jimmy, too – but they obeyed their employer's order and filed out of the clinic behind him and Little Joe. Adam waited while Josie took off her bloody apron and poked her head back into the exam room to ask Hoss to sit with Jimmy for a few minutes while she went up to the house and put a bag together for herself, and then the two of them stepped outside.

It had been less than two hours since Josie and Fionn had come back from their picnic, and the strength of the late afternoon sun surprised Josie; she lost all track of time when she performed surgery, and it seemed like it should be midnight at least. She sighed and rubbed the back of her neck.

"You ok?" Adam asked.

"Yeah. Surgery is just exhausting, that's all. I have to stay so focused it wears me out."

"That's understandable." Adam wrapped an arm around Josie's shoulders as they walked. "You're amazing, you know."

Josie smiled. "Thanks. I'm just glad I wasn't too late."

Adam agreed and then frowned a little. "You know, if you need to stay with him, we can bump our trip to Sacramento back a couple weeks."

"I don't think we'll need to. That's still almost two weeks away. Jimmy should be back on his feet well before then. If all goes well, we'll move him back to the bunkhouse by Tuesday."

"You want me to stay in the clinic with you?"

Josie smiled again and turned her head to look up at Adam. "You will anyway, even if I say no, so yes, please."

Adam chuckled; Josie knew him too well. "I'll bring the checkerboard."

"And some books," Josie added.

"And some books."

When they returned to the clinic some twenty minutes later, Adam and Hoss got Jimmy back into his drawers and settled him onto the cot in the corner of the exam room. It was much more comfortable than the unyielding table on which Josie had performed the surgery, and this was where Jimmy would stay for the first few days of his recovery. A good nurse in his own right, Pip lay down on the floor next to Jimmy's cot to watch over him while he slept. Once Jimmy was settled, Adam brought down the cot from the small loft above the front room while Josie dragged out the one from the second exam room. They had discussed taking the second cot up to the loft but decided it would be better to sleep on the first floor so they could reach Jimmy quickly if he needed anything.

Josie got Jimmy to eat a little broth she heated on the stove in the clinic's small kitchen, and then she and Adam cooked up a simple supper of beans and baked potatoes. Hop Sing had offered to send out supper from the house, but the cousins had declined, preferring instead to treat the evening like a preview of their trip to Sacramento. Jimmy fell asleep again right after his supper, so Adam and Josie had the evening to themselves. Josie checked on Jimmy in between matches of checkers with Adam – they ended the evening tied at two wins apiece – and was pleased to see the young man resting comfortably. Josie left the door to the exam room open so she could hear if Jimmy stirred, and then she dived into the pile of books Adam had brought over from his bedroom. Adam dug through the pile, too, and extracted a thick volume Josie had never noticed on any of her numerous covert sojourns to Adam's bookshelf.

"Try this one," he said proudly as he handed her the book.

" _Moby-Dick_ ," Josie read the cover aloud. She wrinkled her brow. "I've never heard of this. Is it new?"

"No," Adam replied. "It came out shortly after I came home from college. Wonderful book about a mad sea captain out for revenge on a whale that took his leg." He grinned. "Great novel for a Stoddard."

The corners of Josie's mouth twitched upward. "Well, so long as someone gets maimed," she quipped, stretching out on her cot and cracking open the novel.

Josie was always excited about new books, so it was too bad that the story wasn't nearly as captivating as Adam had led her to believe. Just when it seemed the plot was about to get going, the narrator would launch into a lengthy discourse about… well, about whatever happened to be in front of him at the time. But Adam kept bobbing around behind her to see how far she'd gotten and saying things like "Oooh, that's a good part!" until Josie worried that she would hurt his feelings if she didn't make a valiant effort with the book. She fought bravely for two hours until her eyelids began to droop, and she announced that she was going to check on Jimmy one last time and then go to sleep. She crammed a bookmark into the novel and slipped into the exam room. Jimmy was still asleep, though with a little frown on his face. Josie felt his forehead and was glad to discover that his fever had receded. His frown rose into a contented smile when he felt Josie's touch, though his eyes remained closed even as he nuzzled his head further into his pillow. Josie whispered a grateful prayer, kissed Jimmy's forehead, and slid back to the front room.

Adam was nearly bouncing with enthusiasm as Josie stepped back to her cot.

"How do you like the book?" he asked as he hugged her goodnight.

Josie looked up into those shining hazel eyes she loved so much and uttered the closest thing to a fib she had ever told him. "Oh, it's… interesting! Ishmael is quite observant."

"Glad you like it. Goodnight, Josie."

"Goodnight, Adam." Josie settled down onto her cot quickly and shut her eyes, hoping against hope that Adam would ask no more questions about that dreadful novel.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

Josie awoke every couple hours and slipped into the exam room to check on Jimmy. The first two check-ins went fine – Jimmy was still sleeping soundly – but when Josie went in shortly before dawn, Jimmy was awake, his forehead beaded with sweat and his hands wringing the sheets. Adam heard him stirring, too, and he stumbled into the exam room behind Josie, rubbing his eyes with the back of one hand.

"What's wrong?" he asked as Josie laid her hand on Jimmy's forehead. The young man's temperature was elevated, but only mildly so, and Josie turned to Adam, her face calm.

"Morphine wore off," she answered. "Hand me the bottle and syringe from that shelf, would you, please?" She gestured to the shelf behind Adam, who grabbed the little brown bottle of morphine and handed it to Josie along with the syringe that was lying next to it. Josie thanked him and filled the syringe. "This will pinch a bit," she told Jimmy as she folded back the sheet and injected the morphine into his arm. She handed the syringe and bottle back to Adam and pried the fingers of Jimmy's left hand off the sheets and held his hand fast. "Just hold on to me," she told him, letting him squeeze her hand as hard as he wanted to. "The morphine will take effect soon."

Adam watched in awe as Jimmy locked his gaze on Josie's and nodded. The young man had begun to relax the moment Josie took his hand, and Adam marveled at his cousin's ability to calm a patient. His memory flitted back to the previous fall when Josie had worked herself to the point of collapse caring for townspeople who had contracted influenza, and he smiled proudly as he watched her work now. After only a few more seconds, the morphine began to take hold, and Jimmy's grip on Josie's hand loosened, and his eyelids drooped. In another minute, his hand had gone limp and his breathing had evened out. Josie folded the sheet back to Jimmy's waist and peeked under the bandage at his incision. There was just enough weak daylight beginning to illuminate the room for Josie to see that while the incision site was red and angry, it was showing no signs of infection. Smiling, she tucked the sheet back up around Jimmy's shoulders and stepped over to Adam.

"He'll probably sleep until nearly noon," she said. "I don't know about you, but I'm going back to bed."

Adam grinned. "You don't have to twist my arm." He ushered her through the door and back into the front room.

As they settled back onto their cots, Josie slapped her forehead. "Oh no!" she cried.

Adam shot straight up. "What?! What's wrong?!"

"Uncle Ben and I were supposed to ride out to the Paiute camp today to see what it is Chief Winnemucca has for me! He'll think me rude if I don't get out there soon, but I can't leave Jimmy that long." Josie frowned. She really had been looking forward to visiting the Paiute camp again.

"I'll ride out there later, Josie," Adam offered. "I'll let the chief know you've got a patient you can't leave. I'm sure he'll understand."

"Thanks, Adam." Josie smiled at him and snuggled down under the covers, closed her eyes, and fell right back to sleep.

"Anytime, kid," Adam whispered to Josie's sleeping form.

Josie was still sleeping when Adam woke around eight o'clock, so he made himself useful by frying up some eggs and bacon for breakfast. The sound of the bacon grease sizzling in the skillet roused Josie, and she sat up on her cot and grinned at Adam as he strode back into the front room with two plates piled high with food. He handed one to Josie and was about to set the other down on his cot while he went back to the kitchen for the coffee, but one glance at the strings of drool dribbling out of Pip's mouth made him think better of it, and he handed his plate to Josie, too. When he returned again from the kitchen, Josie traded him his plate for one of the cups of coffee he bore, and the cousins tucked into their breakfast.

"I made a little extra," Adam said, jabbing his fork in the direction of the kitchen. "Didn't know if Jimmy would want any."

Josie smiled at Adam's thoughtfulness. "He could probably handle a bit of the eggs," she replied. "Shouldn't upset his stomach. I'll let him try a little when he wakes up." She and Adam laughed as Josie tossed her last slice of bacon to Pip, who caught and swallowed it without bothering to chew.

Adam leaned over to scratch the dog's scruffy brown head. "Mind if I take him with me today?"

"Please do!" Josie answered. "The Paiutes adore him, and I think he's in love with Chief Winnemucca's dog."

Adam chuckled and gathered up his and Josie's dishes and carried them to the kitchen.

"Just leave them in the sink!" Josie called. "You cooked, so I'll clean up."

"Don't have to tell me twice," Adam said. He set the dishes in the sink with a clink and headed back to the front room, where he buckled his gun around his hips. Josie was still sitting on her cot, and Adam leaned over and kissed the top of her head. "I'll be home by supper," he said. "Bearing a gift, with any luck."

Josie stood up and gave him a hug. "Thanks, Cousin-Cousin."

Adam squeezed her back, grabbed his hat, and sauntered out of the clinic with Pip. A few minutes later, Josie heard Sport's familiar hoof beats lope past the clinic. Smiling, she slipped into Jimmy's room to check on him.

Josie passed a quiet day in the clinic. Jimmy woke just before noon, his pain much less than it had been the night before. He ate a few bites of the leftover eggs and washed them down with a small dose of laudanum, which he found much less appealing than Adam's fried eggs. The laudanum made him sleepy, and he dozed for the rest of the afternoon, waking only for a brief time when Baxter stopped by. The foreman was pleased when Josie told him that Jimmy was recovering well so far and she hoped to move him to the bunkhouse in a couple days.

Because Jimmy required so little of Josie's attention, Josie took advantage of the quiet Sunday afternoon she had mostly to herself and flopped down on her cot to plod through a bit more of _Moby-Dick_. She made it only about ten pages past where she had left off the night before when she slammed the book closed and tossed it onto Adam's cot with a grunt of disgust.

"That is the worst book in the world!" she told the empty room. "It'll be completely forgotten in another twenty years." She picked up _Silas Marner_ instead and was soon lost in the struggles of the British weaver.

She had just finished changing Jimmy's bandage in the late afternoon when she heard hooves coming up the road toward her clinic. She heard two horses, and she frowned, disappointed that it must not be Adam. Then she heard Pip bark, and she grinned and rushed out onto the porch. She looked to her left and saw Adam and Sport trotting down the road toward her, accompanied by Chief Winnemucca on a small red horse. Behind the chief was his wolf mix, Esa, and bounding along behind her was a large brown puppy. Josie waved as the men and canines drew near the clinic, and she darted down the porch steps as Adam dismounted and wrapped Sport's reins around the hitching post. He caught her up in his arms and swung her around; even after two years, the novelty of having Josie on the Ponderosa hadn't worn off.

Chief Winnemucca smiled as he watched the cousins. He stood by what he had said that spring when he had seen Adam and Josie together for the first time: they were more siblings than cousins, their spirits inextricably linked.

Josie let go of Adam and turned to greet the Paiute leader.

"It's so wonderful to see you again, sir," she said. "I'm sorry I couldn't come out to your camp myself."

Winnemucca waved off her apology. "You must tend to your patient. I hope he is doing well."

"He is, thank you. Would you like to come in for some tea or coffee?"

The chief shook his head. "No, I have just come to present you with your gift. I understand you have a birthday soon, so it seemed an appropriate time."

Ben wandered down the lane just then and greeted Adam, Josie, and the Paiute chief.

"Good to see you again, Chief," he said, shaking Winnemucca's hand. "Everything all right in your village?"

"Oh yes, Ben Cartwright, all is well. I just came to give your niece her birthday present."

Ben smiled as Winnemucca stepped around behind his horse and looped a rope around the large puppy's neck. Ben's smiled faded as the chief led the ungainly young dog up to Josie and handed her the end of the rope.

Josie thought there was something familiar about the scruffy brown puppy with the giant feet and floppy ears, and when Winnemucca handed her the rope, she squealed with delight and dropped to her knees next to the puppy.

"He's beautiful, Chief, thank you so much!" she exclaimed. She cast her gaze back and forth between the new puppy and Pip, who gazed at the puppy over Josie's shoulder. Josie giggled. "He looks a lot like Pip."

"He should," Winnemucca replied. "He is the son of Pip and Esa."

Josie's jaw dropped and she glared over her shoulder at her older dog. "Pip, you cad!" She turned back to the Indian chief. "Oh, Chief Winnemucca, I am so sorry. I had no idea that Pip had-"

Winnemucca cut her off with a hearty laugh. "Do not apologize, Dr. Cartwright. He and Esa produced a fine litter of four puppies. I have kept one for myself and have given the others as gifts to two of my warriors. But I saved the finest of the litter for you."

"This is Pip's son?" Ben asked, pointing at the oversized puppy who was now chasing Pip in a circle around Josie.

"Yes, a fine young dog," the chief answered.

Ben's eyes grew huge as he tried to imagine how little space would be left for humans in the house once Josie brought both Pip and this new dog inside. The puppy looked to be only about thirty pounds now, but if Pip was the father…

"I don't know how to thank you, Chief!" Josie exclaimed, popping to her feet and shaking the warrior's hand.

"I don't know why to thank you," Ben muttered.

Chief Winnemucca didn't hear Ben's comment, but Adam and Josie did, and Josie's face fell as she realized how unhappy Ben was about this situation. He had come to love Pip, especially after the wolfhound saved his life, but Josie knew that Adam had had to twist his arm pretty hard to get him to consent to her having the massive dog in the first place. Her uncle had done so much for her since she had come west that Josie felt terrible asking him for anything more. She scratched the puppy's head as she tried to think of how she could decline this gift without offending the Paiute leader.

"I just wish Fionn could see you before you go," Josie whispered to the puppy. "He'd love you." She gasped as the revelation struck her, and she grinned up at Winnemucca.

"I do love him," she said, "but I think Pip is all the giant dog one ranch can handle." She glanced at Ben, whose face was awash with relief. "But my friend Fionn is dying for a dog like this. Would you mind if I passed him along to him?"

Winnemucca's eyes twinkled as he smiled at Josie, who suddenly got the idea that the chief had known Ben wouldn't be thrilled at the prospect of another humungous canine and had thought that giving Josie one of the puppies would be a grand trick to play on him.

"He is your dog to do with as you please," the chief said, inclining his head toward Josie. "Please give him to your friend with my compliments."

Josie grinned again at Winnemucca and shook his hand a final time. With a little wave to the Cartwrights, Winnemucca swung up onto his horse, whistled for Esa, and set off for home.

Beads of sweat had broken out along Ben's hairline, and he wiped his brow with his handkerchief. "He _is_ a beautiful dog, Josie," he said. "Pip should be very proud."

"Pip needs to stay away from Esa, I think," Josie giggled. "He's going to ruin the family's reputation."

"That's for sure!" Adam chimed in. "I mean, what would Aunt Rachel say?!"

The three Cartwrights burst out laughing, but Josie collected herself long enough to nudge Adam in the ribs and give him a sly wink. "Yeah, you gotta be careful with that sort of thing," she said. "We wouldn't want to scandalize the old girl, now would we?"

Adam swatted at Josie's rear end, but she had already grabbed the new puppy's leash and darted back into the clinic, shrieking with laughter, and Adam's hand connected with nothing but air.

Ben raised an eyebrow and turned to his son. "Now whatever did she mean by that?"

Adam shrugged his shoulders and hoped he wasn't blushing. "No idea, Pa."

"Uh huh."

"Well, I should get those stalls cleaned out before supper," Adam said. "See ya later, Pa!" He set off for the barn, forcing himself to walk even though he really wanted to break into a dead sprint.

Ben muzzled his laughter as he watched Adam escape. Given his son's reaction to Josie's comment, Ben was certain now that his earlier suspicions regarding Adam and Molly were correct, and he grinned. "I'd pay good money to see Rachel scandalized," he mused to himself with a little chuckle. Still snickering, he headed back to the house to finish up with his financial ledgers before supper.

Adam and Josie spent Sunday and Monday nights in the clinic keeping an eye on Jimmy. The young ranch hand was recovering quickly, and by Monday morning, he was able to walk far enough while leaning on Adam to make a sojourn to the outhouse. On Tuesday morning, Baxter carried him back to the bunkhouse, setting him down on the porch and letting him walk to his bunk unassisted. Jimmy was still pretty pale, but his incision was healing nicely, and Josie expected she would be removing his stitches by the end of the week.

The new puppy, meanwhile, was enjoying his brief stay on the Ponderosa. His face resembled Pip's almost exactly, but it was clear that the scruffy brown puppy would be shorter and stockier than his father, and Hoss guessed that he would be smaller than Pip by a good sixty pounds. Hoss and Little Joe were disappointed that they were not keeping the dog, but they both agreed that Fionn would love him.

"One thing I just don't get, Josie," Hoss said, scratching his head. "Don't wolfhounds kill wolves?"

"That was their original purpose, yes," Josie acknowledged.

"Well then, why didn't Pip attack Esa rather than, well, you know?"

"Oh, he attacked her all right," Joe mumbled, and Adam snickered even as he smacked his little brother upside the head.

Josie giggled, too. "I don't know, Hoss. I suppose you don't always get to choose who you fall in love with." She sighed and for a brief instant looked wistful. "Hey, who wants to ride over to the O'Connells' with me tomorrow to give him to Fionn?"

All three of her brothers volunteered; no one wanted to miss seeing the look on Fionn's face when Josie gave him the puppy.

"Well don't leave me out!" Ben declared, stepping out onto the porch.

The siblings grinned, and everyone agreed that they would all ride out to the O'Connells' ranch right after breakfast the next morning.

"It's just too bad Molly will be at her shop," Adam commented. "She's gonna love him, too."

"Oh, I can arrange for her to be home," Josie said. She jumped to her feet and dashed inside for a piece of paper and a pencil. When she returned to the porch, four sets of curious eyes gazed over her shoulder as she wrote a brief note:

Dear Molly,

Stay home tomorrow. We're all coming by with a big surprise for Fionn.

Love,

Josie

Josie folded up the note and tied it to Pip's collar. "Go to town, Pip!" she said. "Go find Molly!"

Pip barked a reply and raced down the laneway toward town. Joe had to hold tight to the puppy to keep him from tearing off after his father, and as Pip disappeared around the barn, the young dog began to whine.

"It's ok, boy," Joe said, stroking the puppy's head. "Your pa will be back."

Adam stared open-mouthed after Pip's diminishing figure. "Josie," he said, turning around slowly. "When did you teach him to find Molly?"

"Oh, ages ago. He can find Patience now, too. Thought it might be useful."

"But, but…" Adam sputtered. "You can't just tell her to stay home! She has a business to run!"

Josie rolled her eyes and put her arm around Adam's shoulders. "Adam, dear," she said. "She's not going to mind if she knows she's gonna get to see you. Why, she just can't get enough of you."

Ben, Hoss, and Little Joe exploded in laughter as Josie tweaked Adam's cheek and he blushed bright red.

Right after breakfast the next day, the five Cartwrights saddled up their horses and set off for the O'Connells' with Pip and the puppy trotting along behind. Pip had returned the previous evening with a note from Molly saying she couldn't wait to see them ("What did I tell you, Adam?" Josie had said) and that she wouldn't tell Fionn they were coming.

When the Cartwrights clip-clopped their way into the O'Connells' front yard mid-morning, Molly was reading a book in a rocking chair on the porch. She jumped to her feet and waved as they approached, Pip bounding ahead to greet her, his little son hot on his heels.

"Well, who's this?!" she asked, kneeling down to scratch the puppy, who reached up to lick her face.

"Right now he's just 'The Puppy,'" Josie said, sliding off Scout and scampering over to Molly. "But he's about to be Fionn's new dog!"

Molly's eyes popped and she squealed with delight as she wrapped the puppy up in a squirming, drooling hug. Josie related to her how Pip had led Chief Winnemucca's wolf mix astray and produced four puppies.

"Oh, Josie, Fionn's goin' to love him!" Molly cried, now engulfing Josie in a hug. "You're so good to think of him." She sniffled and wiped away a few tears as she let go of Josie and finally turned to greet Adam and the rest of the family.

Josie turned to Pip and ordered him to "Go find Fionn!" – a command not unnoticed by her dear Cousin-Cousin.

"So he knows how to find Fionn, too, eh?" Adam asked with a smirk.

"Well, uh, yes," Josie stammered, blushing. "I mean, Fionn's working on the library with us, and I thought it would be handy to have Pip be able to deliver messages. You know, for the library."

"Sure, Josie. For the library."

Josie wanted to kick him, but instead, she grabbed the puppy's leash and stalked over to the porch where she plunked down in Molly's rocking chair and sulked.

"Don't make fun of her," Molly chastised Adam, giving him a little poke in the ribs. "She's good for Fionn." She stretched up and kissed the tip of his nose, and then she directed everyone to sit on the porch to wait for Fionn. "It'll probably be half an hour or so before he gets here," she said. "He was in the back field this mornin' checkin' on his pumpkins."

Molly fetched cookies and lemonade for everyone, and they sat on the porch chatting until they heard the thundering hooves of Fionn's dapple mare. Molly, the Cartwrights, and the puppy looked up to see Fionn tearing into the yard, Pip coursing along beside him. Hoss hid the puppy behind him as the mare slid to a stop and Fionn leapt down and sprinted across the yard to Josie, his hat flying off.

"Josie!" he cried, his eyes wild. "Are you all right?! What's happened?! What's wrong?!"

"Fionn!" Josie exclaimed, leaping from her seat and intercepting him at the top of the porch stairs. "Calm down! Everything's fine. Why shouldn't it be?"

Fionn grabbed the porch rail for support as his chest heaved and his heart pounded. He glanced up and for the first time noticed the other Cartwrights' presence. His face burned. "This is a social call, isn't it?" he gasped.

"Yes, son," Ben assured him. "Just a social call."

Fionn slapped his forehead as he slid to sit on the porch steps. "Jesus, Mary, and Joseph! When Pip raced into me field like to beat the devil, I thought somethin' terrible had happened! I started ridin' toward your ranch until Pip barked at me and led me back here. Then I _really_ got worried." He dropped his head between his knees, still panting.

Josie sat down next to him and put her arm around his shoulders. "I'm so sorry, Fionn! I didn't occur to me that sending Pip after you would frighten you like that."

"Well, now you know," Fionn laughed weakly. He shook his head and turned around to look back at the rest of the Cartwrights. "What brings you all out here in the middle of the week like this? I'm glad to see you, but don't you have a house to be buildin'?"

"Oh, we do," Adam replied, his arm around Molly's waist. "But it was such a nice day for ride."

Fionn raised an eyebrow at Adam. "You're such a terrible liar, Cartwright, it's almost sad."

Adam laughed as Josie grabbed Fionn's hand. "I have a present for you!" she squealed. "Close your eyes!"

Fionn glanced suspiciously at the family but did as he was told. Once Josie was sure he wasn't peeking, she took the puppy's leash from Hoss and placed it in Fionn's hand. "Ok, open them!"

Fionn's eyes flew open and settled first on the leather leash in his hand and then on the wiggling brown puppy it was attached to. His mouth dropped open, and he collapsed to his knees next to the pup, who began bathing his face with his tongue. The puppy seemed to understand that this was his new master, and he clambered into Fionn's lap, nearly knocking the young man over. Fionn laughed as he wrapped his arms around his new dog to hold him still long enough to get a proper look at him.

"Look at that face!" Fionn exclaimed. "Why, he looks just like Pip!"

"That's because he's Pip's son!" Josie cheered. "He's half wolfhound and half, well, we're not exactly sure. He got Chief Winnemucca's wolf mix into a bit of trouble, and here's the result."

"He's half Paiute, then," Fionn quipped.

"An Irish Paiute," Adam mused. "That's a new one."

Everyone laughed as Fionn rose to his feet. "Thank you, everyone," he said, addressing all of the Cartwrights. "I just can't believe this. I-" He choked up, unable to say anything more.

"Just thank Josie," Ben said, laying his hand on Fionn's shoulder. "Winnemucca gave her the puppy, and all she could think about was getting him to you."

Fionn smiled up at Ben. His own father had been gone for more than a year, and Fionn missed these little paternal gestures; he could understand why Josie felt so at home on the Ponderosa.

"Come on, everyone, let's get some coffee," Molly said. She ushered the Cartwright men and Pip inside, leaving Josie, Fionn, and the puppy alone on the porch.

Fionn and Josie watched the puppy prance around the porch for a few moments before looking up and catching one another's gaze. Fionn's eyes smoldered as he stared into Josie's, and her pulse quickened as she smiled shyly at him. She felt that this was a watershed of a moment and that she should say something meaningful, perhaps even profound, but all she could come up with was "What're you gonna name him?"

Fionn chuckled and cast his eyes back down to his new dog. "You think Cú Chulainn would be too difficult?"

"Depends on who has to pronounce it."

Fionn nodded. "That's true," he agreed. He stared at the puppy that was now attacking a loose string on the cuff of his jeans, and he grinned. "Conall," he said. "That's what I'll call him."

"Conall," Josie said, trying it out. "You're going to name him 'Conall O'Connell?'" She giggled.

"Sure, why not?" Fionn laughed, too. "'Conall' means 'Strong Wolf,'" Fionn answered, his eyes never leaving his new dog. "Seems fittin', don't you think?"

"It sure does!"

"Conall Cernach is also an Irish hero," Fionn explained.

"It's perfect."

Fionn glanced up and caught Josie's eye again. He stepped closer to her so there was hardly any daylight between them. "Thank you," he whispered. "I can't ever thank you enough. You can't possibly understand how much this means to me." Josie smiled at him, and Fionn reached out a hand and caressed her cheek, surprised that Josie didn't back away from his touch. He wanted to lean in, to press his lips ever so gently against hers, hoping that she didn't punch him this time, but he remembered Ben's words about letting Josie make the first move, and he dropped his hand and stepped back. He cleared his throat. "When, uh, when are you and Adam leavin' for Sacramento?"

Josie gave her head a little shake as if to clear it. "A week from Friday."

Fionn frowned. "I may not be able to see you again before then. Lots of work to do around here when it gets this close to harvest time."

"Yeah."

One corner of Fionn's mouth twitched up, and his eyes sparkled with that mischievous gleam Josie loved. "Don't you go forgettin' about old Fionn while you're havin' adventures in the big city."

This time, Josie closed the distance between them and laid her hand on Fionn's cheek. "Not ever," she whispered. She stretched up on her toes and kissed his forehead. "And when I get back, we'll make that apple cider for the fall festival. Now let's go see about that coffee."

They smiled at each other and then walked, hand-in-hand, into the house, Conall bouncing along behind them.


End file.
